Jennifer Trammell (J10)

“From [my] first moment on campus, I have felt like a part of the Northwestern community,” says Jennifer Trammell (J10), a rising senior studying broadcast journalism at Medill. “Much of that stems from my passion and dedication to the Northwestern News Network,” she adds, referring to NNN, the University’s student news and sports operation that broadcasts three times weekly to the campus and surrounding community.

In her first days as a freshman, Trammell jumped headfirst into NNN. Within two weeks of their initial meeting of the year, she had taken on the Associated Student Government beat, and her first live segment had already aired. “My objective while working with NNN,” she explains, “has been to master positions in the field, studio, and control room, gaining a 360-degree perspective and grasping an understanding of the entire newsroom operation.”

In her effort to familiarize herself with the organization as a whole, Trammell has served as anchor, reporter, producer, and news director and has picked up the ins and outs of various crew jobs.

The network has been a home, a workspace, and a school in itself. “My experience at NNN has taught me so much about myself,” she says. Her two-quarter tenure as news director was especially instructive: “In the position where I yielded the most power, I learned the most about giving up control and trusting others to complete quality work….[Now] I can honestly say I am a team player.”

The senior’s desire to learn all she can about her chosen field has also prompted her to participate in NEXT, the Northwestern Externship Program. During the yearly event, she has shadowed a CNN producer and a Capitol Hill newspaper reporter. Those experiences “have been just as valuable as Medill classes,” and she praises the opportunity to make contacts “formed around a personal Northwestern connection.”

Through both NEXT and her vast involvement with NNN, Trammell has learned much about the directions she could follow within broadcasting—essential lessons for a driven and talented student.

“I’ve discovered things I really enjoy and a few things I’d rather not do.” Particularly, she explains, “I really enjoy local news. I think it’s important to take stories happening on the national level and make them relevant to viewers in the immediate area.”

This preference led her to South Dakota for the summer, where she has been an on-air reporting intern for Sioux Falls’ KELO-TV. She chose to work at the network because it afforded a hands-on opportunity and a chance to reach the community.

Expressing her gratitude for the resources available to her as a young journalist in Medill’s prestigious program, Trammell explains that Northwestern offers tremendous undergraduate opportunities for those willing to take advantage of them. “Taking the initiative has made all the difference in my college career.”

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Posted August 18, 2009.