Students in NMU’s multimedia journalism major are finding full-time jobs before they graduate. Chelsea Birdsall was hired near the end of her senior year at ABC10 in Ishpeming, and she recently won two professional awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. Birdsall won MAB Merit Awards for news anchoring and investigative reporting.

“I started working for ABC10 as a multimedia journalist in March 2016, and it is incredibly humbling to receive such amazing recognition only a year into my career," Birdsall said. "With graduation coming in a few short weeks, I feel extremely prepared to leave Marquette thanks to my time at the station and all of my professors in Communication and Performance Studies, English and Political Science who have helped shape my future in the last four years. I cannot express enough gratitude to each and everyone of them."

Birdsall is one of several multimedia journalism students working at ABC10 while they attend classes at NMU. According to NMU Professor Dwight Brady, other local and regional media outlets are snapping up his multimedia journalism grads as 24/7 demand for content continues to drive the business. Birdsall plans to continue working at ABC10 while she pursues a master’s degree in public administration at NMU.

Birdsall is currently the evening anchor for the 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts and is responsible for monthly features and daily stories. She works 40 hours at the station plus another part-time job on campus as a personnel supervisor for the Marketplace.

“It has certainly been a challenge learning to balance all of my activities, but I feel strongly that it will better prepare me for the real world, which has a tendency to come at you with full force when you least expect it,” she said.

At some point, Birdsall plans on moving to somewhere she can escape the snow.

CAPS Professor Dwight Brady contributed this story.