Thomas Miller | Feb. 10, 2011
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| Photo by Thomas Miller |
| WANE-TV's Aishah Hasnie, BAJ'06, told students that's she's optimistic they will find jobs after graduating. She visited campus Monday to talk to classes and to informal groups of students. |
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“You’ll be able to find a job,” Hasnie told students in associate professor Mike Conway’s J353 Advanced Broadcast News class. “I guarantee it. You will find something.”
Hasnie, BAJ’06, did just that and has been working as a reporter in local television in radio since graduating. She now is an investigative reporter at WANE-TV in Fort Wayne.
She paved her way early with a first internship at 18. Hasnie said those early experiences gave her a sense of direction during her time at IU.
“Every step of the way, I knew more and more that this it,” Hasnie said.
Still, Hasnie said she never expected to work in a city like Fort Wayne during her college years.
“I was really obsessed with markets and having a plan,” Hasnie said about her desire to work in major cities when she was a student. “My life experiences have taught me that markets don’t matter. Stations matter. Companies matter.”
Hasnie stressed that who you work for matters more than where you work. She illustrated the point by recalling her experiences working for a station in Champaign, Ill.
“I was miserable,” Hasnie said. “Don’t let this industry make you hate journalism.”
Conway said bringing alumni such as Hasnie to classes gives students a chance to see what life outside Ernie Pyle Hall.
“Students can often relate better to them than they do professors,” Conway said of young alumni.
Beyond advice, alumni provide connections.
“Without a doubt, a Hoosier is going to help a Hoosier,” said Conway, who started in broadcast news as an IU student and worked as a reporter and producer during a 20 year career “All they want to do is help.”
Journalism students Kelly Roberts and Bradford Raths said that Hasnie’s talk got them excited about what happens after graduation.
“It gave me confidence,” said Roberts, who interned at a local television station. Hearing Hasnie talk about the benefits of working in local television reminded her of what she liked about her internship.
“It gives you the best experience,” Roberts said.
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| Photo by Thomas Miller |
| Hasnie compared a first job in local television to graduate school. "You want to spend the first two years somewhere where everyone will forget your mistakes." |
“You want spend you’re first two years somewhere where everyone will forget your mistakes,” Hasnie said.
Several students also had lunch and informal discussion with Hasnie. At the end of the lunch, junior Bradford Raths said Hasnie gave him something to think about. “It’s nice to have that perspective,” Bradford said.
Hasnie has family in Pakistan and hopes to be a foreign correspondent later in her career, but for now she said she’s focusing on her skills as a reporter.
“It’s a craft,” said Hasnie. “You work on it for the rest of your career. No matter where you are in your career, you’re still working on your craft."
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