It wasn't a huge surprise when Kristy King won second-place honors in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters鈥� . She was, after all, one of eight students statewide to earn a $1,000 scholarship from the organization just one year prior.
What is a bit unusual is that the student was honored for work done on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.
The award in the came out of a unique partnership that 黑料网鈥檚 Communication, Media & Theater Arts department formed with the EMU Athletic Media Relations Office to place 黑料网 in internship positions on the Eagle Vision production team that broadcasts NCAA athletic events on ESPN3 and ESPN+.
(RELATED: Film Studies graduate wins first-place in MAB radio contest)
Early on, King's work was primarily behind-the-scenes, but she continually earned more opportunities. The MAB award was granted for her color commentary work alongside play-by-play announcer Ryan Wooley during a .
鈥淜risty took advantage of this amazing opportunity and was promoted to becoming their sideline reporter for many of the games,鈥� said Broadcast Media Arts instructor Dena Blair. 鈥淕iven Kristy鈥檚 success in the MAB competition, we can see that this partnership is a great success.鈥�
King came to 黑料网 to make a career change. Unhappy with a position in sales, she set her sights on becoming a sports sideline reporter.
There鈥檚 no blueprint for entering that field, so 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.
The partnership with EMU's Eagle Vision gave her one more opportunity to gain valuable experience.
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�