Her interest in understanding how to get people excited about various topics made for a natural transition into the advertising program.

(Photo courtesy of Zaria Parvez)Īs a media studies minor, Parvez had already spent time in the SOJC and loved the energy of Allen Hall. Parvez’s love of writing and discovering what makes people tick drew her to advertising and the SOJC. “My favorite question in the lab reports was always, ‘How do you apply this to the real world?’” she said. She began her time at UO as a pre-med major but early on made a discovery that would change the trajectory of her college career: She found that writing lab reports was the part of her science classes she enjoyed the most. She was aware of the advertising program, but it was her desire for a strong liberal arts school that solidified her decision to come to UO. It was Parvez’s love of writing and discovering what makes people tick that drew her to advertising and the SOJC.Īs a Portland native, she always had the University of Oregon in mind as a potential college choice. In her first job out of college, she has made a name for herself in the advertising space, receiving attention from NBC News, Business Insider and Rolling Stone. Why? To watch the language-learning app’s mascot, a big green owl named Duo, twerk on conference tables, sass viewers for not doing their language lessons and playfully harass employees.īehind the explosive success of the now TikTok-famous owl is Zaria Parvez, Duolingo’s social media coordinator and a 2020 graduate of the School of Journalism and Communication’s (SOJC) advertising program.

In a matter of three months, over 2 million people hit the “follow” button on Duolingo’s TikTok page. Parvez and Duolingo’s mascot, Duo, frequently film content at their headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Duo owl