满帆 grad Carley Ford is putting her bachelor's degree in 运动比赛转播 to work as the new weekend sports anchor for NBC affiliate station WJAC-TV. Covering professional, 大学, and local sports in and around the Pittsburgh area, Carley's reporting includes major league teams such as the Steelers and the Pirates along with teams from universities including 宾夕法尼亚州立大学 and the University of Pittsburgh.

"I grew up playing sports my entire life,”卡利说。. "After high school, I knew I wanted to continue with sports, but I didn't want to play them anymore. I had a passion for it, so then I figured what would be a good way to continue that would be to work in sports."

After finishing high school, Carley toured the 满帆 campus but opted for a degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. "I just wasn't sure about it, and I'm glad I wasn't, because my program didn't exist yet,卡利回忆道. “在联邦, when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, my dad suggested 满帆, and 满帆 got me to where I am now."

During her time as a campus student, Carley had the opportunity to take advantage of a partnership with Rollins College 来报道体育运动.

"The partnership with Rollins was amazing because not only was I calling games, but I was getting to do stories on Rollins athletes,她说. "Honestly, that was a big preparation for where I am now."

When it came time to find a full-time role, the grad kept in mind the importance of a strong professional network and connected with instructors and Program Director Gus Ramsey.

"Gus knew somebody who was leaving [WJAC] and put me in contact with them, and then they put me in contact with the news director and the sports director,”卡利说。. "You have to know what's going on and know who to talk to about it."

Even with the pandemic greatly impacting the world of live sports, Carley has found it hasn't hurt the need for content and coverage.

"We'll cover whatever's big,她说. "I'm not really having to go out and find stories right now…I'm more in [the] studio every day."

For games Carley can't attend due to health and safety protocols, she's given access to practice footage, 游戏内容, and more that allows her to report on Pittsburgh sports as she would if she were working in a more traditional setting.

While she loves the opportunity to work in the studio, the grad admits nothing compares to being able to report from the sideline.

"You're in the atmosphere,她说. "That's one thing I like about my job now is that when I go shoot games, it's right in front of me…You're breaking the story as soon as it happens."