Dreams can come true if you work hard to achieve them, says Southeastern student Jessica Leblanc. She not only dreams of becoming a television news reporter and anchor, but also takes the steps to make it happen.

Many students majoring in Mass Communication at Southeastern take part in the Southeastern Channel. The channel is designed to give students a broad understanding of what it is like to work in the field, and gain firsthand experience of working at a live television station.

Students can work on a number of different shows like Northshore News, College Night, INDI-Visual, The Big Game, and Southeastern Times.

The Southeastern Channel has been on the air since July 9, 2002 and within 7 years has earned world-wide attention and gained several awards. The station offers a lot of training and valuable knowledge to help students progress in their field.

As a student producer for the Southeastern channel, she is learning practical skills of the broadcast industry. “I learned how to edit, write for news, and operate a video camera which is really important. Really students can learn both behind the scenes, and what it takes to be in front of the camera as well.”

The practical experience has been invaluable for Jessica. “I definitely think working here at the Southeastern Channel gives you a real life experience of what you will be faced with when you actually do get a real job and when you inquire about an internship.”

As luck would have it, Jessica landed a summer internship at Fox 8 news. Some of the things she learned while interning there gave her the opportunity to see what she would be doing firsthand in a news station as a real reporter. “I got to network at Fox, so that was definitely a plus. Being there networking, shadowing the reporters, all of that was valuable experience.”

Jessica was ready for the challenge because of her work experience at the Southeastern Channel.  The Southeastern Channel is a 24-hour channel, which has garnered six Emmy’s. Students can work on four student produced, award winning series. “My duties here are anchoring, reporting, writing news stories and scripts, and reads for other programs on the channel.”

Jessica has high hopes for her future and plans on making her dreams a reality. “When I leave Southeastern I hope to get a job at a news station. Maybe start out locally you know, and then working my way up.”

Any students who are interested in getting involved with the Southeastern Channel should fill out a student profile form and submit it to Rick Settoon. Also, contact Rick Settoon to set up a meeting.