Entrepreneur Meena Thiruvengadam ’04 built a career in travel journalism

"UTSA was such a pivotal time for me. I made some of the best friends of my life, and I'm still close with them to this day. During my time there, I explored different interests and really found my direction," said Thiruvengadam. "Working for the school newspaper, The Paisano, was when I truly discovered my passion for journalism. It helped me come out of my shell and shaped the path I would take in my career."

After graduating from UTSA, Thiruvengadam worked in several newsrooms. She began her career at the San Antonio Express-News, and she worked for Dow Jones, where she contributed to The Wall Street Journal, covering topics such as the 2008 global economic crisis and bailouts of major investment banks.

More recently, she has held roles at Yahoo! Finance, Business Insider and Bloomberg. At Bloomberg, she led key initiatives, including creating the world's first sponsored Moment feature on X (formerly known as Twitter), and worked with LINE Corporation to take the Bloomberg brand to the platform in 35 countries.

With a desire to gain more control over her creative direction, Thiruvengadam founded Meena Media in 2018. Her business addresses the growing need for specialized consulting in the media industry. During this time, she freelanced for various travel publications, opportunities that encouraged her to shift her focus toward travel journalism.

This year, Thiruvengadam launched Travel with Meena to further pursue her passion for travel journalism. Her platform highlights underrepresented voices and lesser-known destinations, offering readers new perspectives on global travel through destination guides, travel tips and cultural insights. She also continues contributing to Fortune, Travel + Leisure and Real Simple.

Most recently, the UTSA alumna contributed to the 11^th edition of Lonely Planet Chicago, set to be released in print on January 21, 2025.

As of this year, she has worked with over 75 publishers and has traveled to all seven continents, 68 countries and 47 states.