Zariya Burnes is a a film, journalism, and video production student at Indiana University Indianapolis who is a broadcast lead on news surrounding politics, sports, and culture for the Campus Citizen. She has worked as a storytelling Intern for Chreece [A Hip-Hop festival], where she designed, edited, and wrote content for social media and community engagement.

Zariya has production and communication experience in tailoring towards gaining outreach for larger audiences through film, news, and events. She have won first place in a team project in the Department of Communication at IU Indianapolis as the “Top-Ranked Undergraduate Research or Creative Project Award,” for “Black Representation in Film: The Varying Views of Each Generation” in 2026. She have also started a series called “Major Women” that highlights women who are very active on campus, in their communities, or have significant projects and research.