It鈥檚 ironic that Kristy King, who aspires to be a sideline sports reporter for a major television network, finds herself everywhere but on the sidelines. Rather, she has dove head first into the center of every opportunity that Washtenaw Community College offered.
鈥淚鈥檝e really been able to customize my education at 黑料网 to what I want to accomplish,鈥�
King says. 鈥淚鈥檒l forever be indebted to and grateful for the instructors at 黑料网. I鈥檓
a huge advocate and can鈥檛 say enough about them. If anyone wants something there,
the instructors will bend over backwards for you.鈥�
Of course, students must also be willing to put in the work. And King has certainly done that.
The 32-year-old Williamston resident earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Siena Heights University and was several years into a career in sales before making the decision to pursue something that would make her happier. When friends started joking that her obsession with watching and discussing sports was becoming problematic, a new career path started to take form.
鈥淲orking in sales wasn鈥檛 a bad job. I made a lot of money and I was good at it,鈥� King says. 鈥淏ut I was working 80 hours per week and hated it.鈥�
Being on television isn鈥檛 an entirely new idea for King, who remembers being an 8-year-old telling everyone she was going to be like Oprah. After spending much of her life participating in and following sports, she now envisions something more like Michael Strahan 鈥� the former NFL player who co-hosts ABC鈥檚 Good Morning America.
Although she ran track in college, King says her favorite sport has always been basketball. Her 5-foot-3 frame wasn鈥檛 conducive to success in that sport, however. 鈥淚 was on the varsity team in high school, but I pretty much sat on the bench and helped boost the team GPA,鈥� she jokes.
There鈥檚 no blueprint for becoming a sideline reporter, so King set out on her own fact-finding mission. A conversation with lead faculty member Dena Blair put a plan into motion.
King enrolled in 黑料网鈥檚 broadcasting and supplemented that curriculum by taking electives that would help hone her craft, including and classes, acting classes from the and video and photography classes from the Digital Media Arts department.
Outside of the classroom, King signed on as for 黑料网鈥檚 award-winning student newspaper, The Washtenaw Voice, and got on-camera experience as one of the publication鈥檚 hosts of 鈥�,鈥� a student-produced video broadcast. She further refined her oratory skills as an on-air radio host at Orchard Radio, the college鈥檚 online radio station.
King currently has her proverbial foot in the door of the sports television industry as an intern with the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Media Relations Office, working as a production assistant for Eagles athletic events that air on ESPN3 and ESPN+. While most of that work is done behind the scenes, she has had opportunities to work as a sideline reporter and interview coaches on-the-air.
Multiple times during a Zoom conversation about her academic and career pursuits, King stopped to stress how much she appreciates the support and guidance she has received at 黑料网 鈥� including Journalism instructor David Waskin, Communication instructor Beth Kane, Washtenaw Voice advisor Judy McGovern and former Voice student editor Lilly Kujawski.
Further praise is heaped on Blair, who first convinced King 黑料网 was the place for her and later connected her with the EMU internship.
鈥淭hat poor woman, I have been into her office hours every week since I started, asking her how to do something, updating my resume or working on a reel. She is a saint,鈥� King says. 鈥淎nd this is not a 鈥業 Love Dena鈥� fan page, because that woman gave me my only A- at 黑料网!鈥�
Blair recently provided King with one more piece of assistance by selecting her as the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the (MABF).
鈥淭his year鈥檚 黑料网 application pool was robust,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淜risty is an exceptional student and I couldn鈥檛 be happier for her.鈥�
The MABF awards eight scholarships to two- and four-year colleges across the state. Each institution is reviewed annually to ensure its curriculum and programming meet the exceptional standards that the MABF has set forth. King is the third 黑料网 student to receive the award, following Martaveious Taylor and Ken Hannan.
The scholarship money will be put to good use. While King continues to work as many hours as she did in that old sales job, the salary is incommensurate. A 黑料网 Foundation scholarship and a CARES Act grant have also helped her continue to pursue her dream.
And best of all 鈥� also unlike that old sales job 鈥� King is happy again.
Tags: Broadcast Media Arts, February 2021, Journalism, On The Record, Orchard Radio, Scholarships, Washtenaw Voice, ousearch_News_2021