Students in the Journalism class ended their semester with a guest speaker, TMJ4 multimedia journalist Adriana Mendez.
Mendez has a connection with senior Hope Kittel, who is in the class, from last summer when Mendez aired a feature story about Kittel playing golf again with the use of a mobility device called the VertaCat.
Kittel suggested to English teacher Heather Vande Sande that Mendez speak to the class about her career in journalism.
Mendez spoke about her background and her career path. After interning at TMJ4 and graduating from UW-Parkside with a degree in biology and a minor in Communication, Mendez landed her first job as a general assignment reporter at a TV station in Waco, Texas. From there, she worked at stations in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Asheville, North Carolina until 2018, when she was hired at TMJ4.
As a co-anchor on the morning news, Mendez said her work days begin at 1:30 a.m., in order to be prepared for the 5 a.m. show. Getting enough sleep is a challenge, she said, especially in the summer when the sun doesn’t set until 8 or 9 p.m.
Although she does not have a typical sleep schedule, she said she enjoys her position because she enjoys telling stories. “In particular,” she said, “I enjoy telling positive stories.” She said she believes it is important to highlight the good in a community.
After Mendez spoke to the class, she showed the process of interviewing and filming. Since the musical “Cinderella” will be performed in a month, students asked senior Sharon Chumlea about her career in theater while Mendez filmed the interview. Chumlea said she loves all aspects of performance—acting, singing and dancing. However, she said, “I’m a vocalist at heart.”
“The students asked great questions,” Vande Sande said. “Adriana commented on that, too, which made me happy to know that what the students learn in my class really is applicable to life outside the classroom.”
After the interview, Mendez told students she then needed to record B-roll, which is footage used to supplement the main action. After listening to her instructions, senior David Mai recorded the B-roll, which ended up in the story which aired on TMJ4 the next day.
“It was a really cool experience and something that most people don’t get to do,” Mai said. “It was my first time using equipment of that caliber, and I really hope it turned out well.”