After attending the spring semester Highway 54 Career Fair, which is co-hosted by Newman University and Friends University, Newman Jet student-athlete Anthony Navarrete has landed an internship position with KSN-TV — a local news station in Wichita, Kansas.
Navarrete is a senior communication major and is also a member of the honors program — yet, his involvement on campus does not stop there. Navarrete is also an athlete on the Newman cross-country team and has been a member of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) for the past two years. Additionally, he writes weekly articles for the Vantage student newspaper.
“I didn’t go to any of the Vantage meetings at first, thinking that I wouldn’t like it,” he said. “A friend of mine told me to go with (her), and I figured that if anything, it would help me improve my writing skills.”
After that first meeting, Navarrete decided, “I really dig that,” and has been writing for the Vantage ever since.
Navarrete had not seriously considered attending the career fair either until that same friend talked him into going. She told him it would be great “networking practice,” so he went along.
“It’s that same friend of mine, Madison McCollum, who has talked me into a lot of things,” Navarrete said. “I think in some ways she knows me more than I know me.”
By the end of the career fair, Navarrete was happy he went, he said.
“I talked to one of the representatives at the KSN booth and an executive producer, Rachel, told me more about the producing work.”
Navarrete said he would prefer not to be on the air, but instead is interested in producing, writing and other behind-the-scenes experience. His interest in behind-the-scenes work is ultimately what led the executive producer to hire him, he said.
Navarrete submitted his resume and cover letter on a Friday and heard back the following Monday. He called KSN expecting a phone interview, but was told he received a spot for the fall semester.
“I’m not sure what to expect from the internship, so I’m excited to get experience in each of the departments and decide what I’d like to do with it,” he said.
One benefit of the KSN internship is that Navarrete has the opportunity to make it his own. He gets to choose what type of work his focus will be and has decided to focus his experience in producing.
“I’m most excited about the producing aspect, and the excitement of working there is building,” Navarrete said. “I’ve never explored a career in television before, so it’s all uncharted territory.”
Navarrete started at Newman as a biochemistry major when he discovered that science was not for him, he said. He then switched his major to nursing, hoping that he could use his skills as a people person to interact with more people as a nurse.
After completing some pre-nursing courses, Navarrete was unsure about applying for the program. So, he turned his sights to communication.
“I took a quiz on MyMajors, and it told me that my No. 1 match was communication, that my No. 2 was radiologic technology and that my No. 3 was elementary education,” he said. “The quiz solidified it for me.”
“Dr. Suzanne Berg and Dr. Audrey Curtis-Hane made me feel like I was in the right place. Hane is my advisor, and she is very goal-driven.”
The number one goal that Navarrete hopes to achieve within the next year, he said, is to discover what he wants to do beyond graduation, and whether or not television or print media is for him.
“I like telling and hearing people’s stories, and that’s the best part — hearing people talk. It’s like a little puzzle, figuring out what pieces to put where,” Navarrete said.
Director of Career Services and Cooperative Education Melody Head said there are many opportunities for students to find internship opportunities whenever there are employers on campus.
“Approximately 80 percent of available employment opportunities are not posted on the internet,” Head said. “It is imperative that college students start visiting with employers throughout their college experience — freshman to senior. Any time a college student has an opportunity to share information with a recruiter, the more prepared he or she will be when it comes time to find permanent employment.”
