From time to time, we like to showcase a new SNC grad who’s entered the workplace or grad school. Success stories like these are pretty common. In fact, 95 percent of SNC's Class of 2022 alumni who responded to a survey said they were employed, in grad school or doing service work within nine months of graduating.

Graduation year: 2022
Degree: Communication and Media Studies
Plans after graduation: Lydia is a general assignment reporter for WLUK-TV Fox 11 in Green Bay.

Why did you choose to study communication at St. Norbert?

I came to St. Norbert because I knew I wanted a smaller school. I toured several smaller schools as a high school senior, and then I visited SNC and fell in love with the campus. At that point I didn’t know what I wanted to study.

Unsure on a major, I was speaking with my advisor and describing the kinds of classes I wanted to take, and he suggested trying communication. In the first semester of my second year, I took a class called Writing for Media with Tom Milbourn, who was a news anchor at Fox 11. He gave good insight into working in media, the fast-paced and fun working environment, and described how every day is different. I really enjoyed his class and decided I wanted to go into a news media career.

How has the communication program prepared you for your career goals?

What’s great about St. Norbert and the program itself is that you can create your own educational path. I was able to create an independent study under the direction of Dr. Mark Glantz (Communication). I went out on campus with a camera rented from the library and shot independent news packages on my own, edited them and got a critique from my advisor. That helped me get an internship with WFRV-TV CBS Local 5 in Green Bay, and I don’t think that kind of independent learning would be possible at a larger school.

With a liberal arts education, I was able to build a robust wealth of knowledge. But at the same time, I was able to hyper-focus on news reporting when that’s not a main emphasis for the overall program.

What are you looking forward to in your new role?

Heading into graduation, I applied at all the stations in Green Bay that had openings, and I received two job offers. I decided to accept the position at Fox 11 because I believe it will be a better opportunity in the long run. I’ll be sent to report on things happening in real time; it will vary every day. I’ll be responsible for pitching stories to the news director, and then I’ll be assigned to whatever current event is happening that day.

I’m looking forward to using all the skills I picked up along the way at St. Norbert and in my internship. Reporters write and edit their own stories, and they often film their own stories. It’s a diverse skill set that I’m excited to develop.

In the past four years at St. Norbert, I’ve fallen in love with the area. This role will be a great opportunity to provide people in the community with news they deserve to hear.