Ever since I was a kid, I had dreams of working in television. Specifically, I had a dream of working as a sports broadcaster. In order to forge a career in the industry, I knew I had to start by going to a school that would provide me with the best tools to prepare me to work in broadcasting.
I had several options to choose from when I was a senior in high school. I looked at attending Penn State University, Lock Haven University, and of course, Shippensburg University. Right away, Shippensburg was my number one choice because I knew I could get involved with student broadcast immediately as a freshman.
On August 25th, 2015, I showed up to my first SUTV production meeting. I remember sitting in the back of the room and feeling overwhelmed. I was barely at Shippensburg for a week, I hardly knew anybody at the meeting, and I had no clue how to properly work a camera.
By watching what the upper classmen were doing around the studio, I quickly started learning how write, shoot, and edit a story. Before I knew it, I was regularly providing content for SUTV News. I then turned my attention towards working SUTV live-productions of Shippensburg sports.
I spent my first SUTV broadcast of Ship football operating a camera, but I took notes on how I could become a commentator for the games. By my second semester at Ship, I had moved from behind the camera to in front of it as a sideline reporter.
My first interview as a sideline reporter was with Shippensburg's men's basketball coach, who stood at 6'10" (compared to my modest 5'7"). And to much of my friends' amusement, the students working graphics in the truck butchered my last name. After a rough first night as the sideline reporter, I continued to improve my on-air presence, going from stumbling over my words to having a more confident delivery. As the years rolled by, I moved my way up being the play-by-play commentator by my senior year.
As I come down to my final few weeks of working with SUTV, I look back knowing I made the right decision to get involved when I came to campus four years ago. The skills I learned at SUTV helped me land and succeed in three internships. I even worked at my dream internship covering high school football games with ABC 27 in Harrisburg.
Because of SUTV, I was able to work with really talented and hardworking people. Many of whom will be my lifelong friends. Together we put out a lot of quality content for shows over the years, including a basketball broadcast that brought a Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy home to Shippensburg.
As I go through the job searching process in the upcoming weeks and months, I'll gladly sing the praises of Shippensburg University and SUTV. I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I've done so far without it.
Thank you to all the university staff and students who helped make SUTV great and for giving me an outlet to pursue my career aspirations. It's going to be difficult for me walk away from it all, but I'll always carry the memories of working with SUTV forever.
