Michelle Quinn | BOLDLY, BRIGHTLY

In high school, Michelle Quinn knew she wanted to go into broadcasting: “I want to have my own talk show like Oprah or Ellen and in order to do that, I’m going to be a reporter, then I’m going to be a news anchor, then I’m going to have my own show — I have this whole plan.”

But finding the right college for broadcast journalism proved to be a challenge. She’d all but given up when a high school counselor showed her a video about Ryan Jenkins ’18 on Augustana’s homepage.

A multimedia journalism and mass communication (MJMC) major, Jenkins had interned at CBS News in New York City and worked at a local TV station while attending Augustana.

“Basically Ryan was doing everything I’ve ever dreamed of doing,” Quinn said. “And I thought, I want to do that. I need to go there.”

One application and several emails later, Quinn was touring campus, which she fell in love with, and talking with Dr. Carolyn Yaschur, also featured in Jenkins’ video. Augustana’s small classes, the one-on-one attention from advisors, and hands-on opportunities within the MJMC major fit Quinn’s plan perfectly.

Fast forward two years, and the dream is taking shape. After writing for the Observer student newspaper, Quinn landed an internship at a local TV station the summer before her junior year. The internship, she says, “literally changed my life because I was out working as a reporter every day, getting hands-on, real-life journalism experience.”

She brought what she had learned back to campus, and became a broadcast journalist for the Observer — the first. She creates video stories to complement written articles.

Quinn made opportunities for herself at Augustana with her can-do attitude and creative spirit, and campus partners offered her experiences she could never imagine.

Through The EDGE Center led by Doug Tschopp, Quinn in her first year on campus helped plan and run an international conference in Scotland. The International Family Therapy Association works exclusively with Augustana to organize and manage its annual conference.

“I was interested in event planning because in high school, I had planned Homecoming and prom,” Quinn said. “But I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this. We had 300 participants from over 28 countries. We planned it and traveled to Scotland to see it through. It was the coolest thing.”

It’s likely Quinn will be organizing, managing the association’s future conferences and possibly traveling to Switzerland and Japan before she graduates. Having these global experiences will help her become a more well-rounded and informed journalist.

Already, as a result of her classes, internship and extracurricular experiences, Quinn says she feels 100 percent prepared to start her broadcast career.

It seems fitting that just as Ryan Jenkins’ story motivated her, she now has her own video on Augustana’s homepage to showcase her achievements and inspire others.