Rya Backer, producer, MTV
A New Yorker born and raised, Rya rose from the ranks at MTV, starting as an intern, and is currently a quadruple threat: producing, editing, shooting, and starring in her own franchises...plus working on some of MTV's most memorable programs, like the VMAs.

You are actually from Manhattan. What is it like, post-college, to see all of these people flock to your city? What advantage do you think you received as "the home team"? What disadvantages?
"I was so excited when so many of my friends chose to live in New York City after college. Pardon the cliché, but I really, truly believe that it's the greatest city in the world. That said, it's also one of the most cutthroat, fast-paced, and dense cities imaginable, so I suppose my home court advantage was my awareness and something of an immunity to it by the time I entered the workforce. I'm very close with my family and friends from here, so I'm lucky that I have a big, local support system in place. I suppose the latter could also be regarded as a disadvantage, honestly, as I never had that 'First New York' experience that my mother and so many of my peers had. I really respect the struggle and the thick skin built when one must make their own way in an adopted hometown."

If you could go back and tell yourself anything, what would it be?
"I would tell 21-year-old Rya to be a little more present in the moment. It's a tough idea to share as it may come off as ungrateful, but I didn't want to be in college and finished early so I could start working. I would tell five-year-old Rya that in twenty years, she’ll meet Danny Wood and Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids on the Block, and she’ll be starstruck."


Photographed by CJ Isaac