Faculty, staff, students and more gathered in the University Library for an opening reception for the “Journey of the Imagination” Special Collections and Archives Exhibit on Oct. 15, 2026. Maintaining the theme brought forth by the gallery of the ideas of storytelling and world building, CSUN Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) alumna Minoti Vaishnav spoke at the event.
Emy Decker, Dean of the University Library, spoke first, giving welcoming remarks and introducing the curators of the exhibit: Gayle O’Hara, Mallory Furnier and Ellen Jarosz. The 3 led the discussion and audience Q&A with writer Vaishnav, who was inspired by science fiction and murder mystery.
Vaishnav spoke about her career in which she has written both fiction and adapted non-fiction for podcasts and television, in addition to published literary short stories. Some notable credits include writing for television shows “True Lies” (CBS), “The Equalizer” (CBS), and podcasts “True War Stories: Mission Report” (Voyage Media Podcasts) and “The Mind Doctor” (Voyage Media Podcasts). Vaishnav explained what it meant to be a storyteller.
“We all have inherent stories within us, but it’s the passion that really takes us from being, you know, just ‘I’m gonna tell you a story like I’m your friend’ to ‘I’m gonna write this down and create something out of this from my imagination’” Vaishnav said. “It’s practice and passion that makes you a storyteller.”
Vaishnav grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to Los Angeles at age nineteen to attend CSUN with the dream of becoming a pop star. She shared that it was in a screenwriting class at CSUN where she learned writing was what she wanted to pursue. Many CTVA students were in attendance and asked Vaishnav about entering the field.
Giving advice to current students, Vaishnav pointed out that many doors to networking and getting in rooms are closing, but encouraged them to keep writing.
“That’s not in your control. What’s in your control is to keep writing and to keep churning out the best samples of your life,” Vaishnav said.
After the Q&A, guests mingled over refreshments and were encouraged to examine the displays in the exhibition.
The exhibit opening reception is an annually anticipated event for the library team. In previous years, the event has brought in guest speakers such as veteran Abram D. Milton, who works at CSUN in the University Counseling Services, Beatriz (Betty) Porto from the founding family of Porto’s Bakery, and alumni Adrienne Borlongan and Jon-Patrick Lopez, who are the founders of Wanderlust Creamery.
With the completion of the “Journeys of the Imagination” opening reception, the Special Collections and Archives team can focus on their next endeavor, as they are in the midst of work on the exhibit for the upcoming academic year, which will dive deeper into the history of books.
