Hopkins lands job at KTIV before graduation

Spring is right around the corner and for seniors the countdown to graduation is nearing, which means one thing: finding a job. For most seniors, the job hunt can be frustrating, intimidating and all around stressful, but for senior Allissa Hopkins, securing a job before graduation put her one step ahead of her fellow classmates.

Hopkins, a native of Earlham, Iowa, is a media studies major with a minor in communication studies. She is actively involved in many campus organizations and productions.

She has served as the Production Manager of the University Cable Network, staff writer and multimedia guru for The Tack and has hosted many UCN shows such as Pop Chef, UCN News and Insight, a talk show based off of The View.

Staying active is not just something Hopkins does on campus. but off campus as well. Her two internship opportunities during the last two interims have given her the experience that every student dreams of having on their resume.

Hopkins' junior year led her to Washington, D.C., to work for NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert, where she was responsible for organizing newspapers in the morning and other political online news, along with archiving and organizing tapes and attending press conferences. Then, this last J-term she was given another chance to head back to the east coast to New York City to work for Channel 1 News. This intern position was different because she was able to go out in the field and shadow the reporters.

"I enjoyed my experience at Channel 1 more than Meet the Press for the reason that, although Meet the Press is more highly known, my experience at Channel 1 related more to what I actually want my career to be," Hopkins said.

Since acquiring two really great internship opportunities, Hopkins's road to self-discovery was not over. Last summer, she interned at Sioux City's KTIV where she served as a temporary reporter. She lived life as a typical reporter and was given stories with instruction to go out in the field and report on them.

Recently she has been working part-time for KTIV on weekends and over spring break. One normal day at work things changed when her boss asked what she had planned to do after graduation; soon after she was offered a full-time reporter position that would start literally right after graduation. There was no interview, resume or letter of application required.

"I think it says a lot about someone when they are hired without having to go through the whole interview process and are chosen over stacks of applications. I feel very honored," Hopkins said.

So while her classmates are constantly being drilled with the dreaded question of, "What are you doing after graduation?" Hopkins can rest assured knowing that her hard work, great connections and amazing internship opportunities have helped land her very first career.

"I've been very lucky and have gotten some lucky breaks, and I consider this to be another one. I have had a lot of people help me along the way, which has gotten me to where I am today," Hopkins said. Hopkins hopes to someday move to a bigger town with a bigger market, but until then, look out for her on KTIV.