Set, Spike, Scholarship: A Student-Athlete's Journey

International Student Stories – Episode featuring Luisa

In this episode, we sit down with Luisa, a German international student who came to the US to play volleyball on scholarship at Madonna University — and ended up building a career as a television news reporter at Fox 47 in Lansing, Michigan.

Luisa shares what it was really like to leave her hometown of Potsdam, Germany, navigate a new language and culture, and push herself out of her comfort zone at every turn — from working as a barista to producing a campus talk show. She opens up about the mental challenges of competing at the college level, the ups and downs of breaking into broadcast journalism with a strong accent, and why she believes international students should always say their dreams out loud.

Whether you're an international student yourself, an athlete thinking about studying abroad, or someone who loves an honest story about grit and reinvention — this one's for you.

Topics covered:

• Growing up in Potsdam, Germany
• Coming to the US on a volleyball scholarship
• Adjusting to American culture and overcoming the language barrier
• Studying broadcast journalism at Madonna University
• Landing a job as an on-air TV reporter
• Tips for improving your English accent
• Advice for international students chasing big dreams

Transcript

Speaker 0:20 Speaker 0:20

Hello, hi, how are you? Welcome to International Student Stories, where we share authentic stories from international students studying in the U.S. My name is Simon Hamlin. I'll be your guide on this jouney.

Introduction

Speaker 0:34

Hi, Louisa.

Speaker 1 0:35

Hi, Simon.

Speaker 0:37

Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 1 0:38

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 0:41

We're thrilled to have you here. You are actually our first on a number of levels. One of the fun things about launching a new podcast, we're about seven, eight episodes in, is everything is a first. You are our first German student, you are our first scholarship athlete, and you are our first television news reporter.

Speaker 1 1:06

Whoa, that's a lot. Okay.

Speaker 1:08

And I want to talk about all of those things today. We're going to start with your background coming from Germany and coming to the US to play volleyball at Madonna University. So before we get to your US time,

Growing Up in Potsdam, Germany

Speaker 1:25

let's go back to your childhood in Potsdam, Germany. What was it like growing up in Potsdam? What are spots that you would want people to see if they were just visiting you for the first time?

Speaker 1 1:39

Oh well, that's a very good question. Yeah. So in Germany, of course, I always compare it to the US being here, but we definitely have a lot of public transport. People walk a lot. There are a lot of parks. So in my hometown, definitely there are a lot of castles. You know, the way you I think imagine Germany, that's how my town kind of or city kind of looks like. And yeah, I I'm an only child and always played volleyball. And for a little bit I also danced, but then you know, I needed to decide between the two because there was no way I could do both at the same time on the weekends. So I always stick with volleyball and yeah, school played a big part of it. And when I was in eighth grade, that's when I visited a radio channel for the first time, and that basically that's basically how my passion for journalism started.

Speaker 2:37

How did you decide to stick with volleyball over dancing?

Speaker 1 2:40

I think I was able to kind of achieve something with dance in a short period of time. I they gave a cup to oh when we wanted a cup, they only gave it to one person because it was only there was only one cup. And then at the end of the season, I got one, so then I felt very accomplished. And I mean volleyball was kind of what I always liked the people a lot. They were my closest friends at the time, so I felt good letting dance go and just sticking with volleyball. Yeah.

Speaker 3:16

At what point did you start to think this volleyball thing could actually take me to the US on a scholarship?

Speaker 1 3:24

Wow, that's yeah. So one girl from my volleyball club, she went to the US to study and play volleyball. And when she did that, I thought, wow, that would actually be the perfect solution for me because I always wanted to go abroad. And it's very common for German students to go abroad at least for one year, or you know, after we study, also to do work and travel or something like this. But I thought studying in the US and playing volleyball would combine everything, and you know, I wouldn't learn English, wouldn't waste time, wouldn't go directly into studying, you know. So that was the main reason.

Speaker 3:59

What was your parents' reaction?

Speaker 1 4:01

I think they saw it coming that I would want to go abroad because I already wanted yes, because I already wanted to go abroad for the high school exchange year, but I was kind of too young, you know, at the time to figure out the scholarship situation myself, and it's still very expensive, so that didn't work out. And instead I went to Argentina for three months, and you know, so they knew they're I always wanted to leave to other places, so and I'm happy they let me go. Kind of um, I'm sure hoping that I would come back soon.

Speaker 4:34

Have they been able to come out and visit you at all?

Speaker 1 4:37

Yes, and actually my mom is going to come in a couple of days, so I'm very excited to see her after a year. Yeah.

Speaker 4:44

Wonderful, wonderful. And in Germany, actually, I'm gonna I'm gonna switch this. Uh

Adjusting to Life in the US

Speaker 4:54

when you did come to the US, what were some of the toughest adjustments for you?

Speaker 1 5:01

In the beginning, definitely the language. I didn't expect it because in Germany we're supposed to supposedly have a very good education, you know, and I thought English, I will be fine, but it was a little bit harder than I thought. So people were just talking too fast, especially being a part of the volleyball team, everybody was just talking. And you know, I was also always I've never been very outgoing, so there was a challenge as well. And I when I wanted to say something, I wanted it to be the perfect sentence, you know. So by the time I prepared the sentence in my head, the conversation was already over. And that was basically definitely one thing, and that also played a role in making friends, because of course, when you go abroad, there's this pressure. Okay, I have to find friends, because if not, I might feel alone or something like that. And you know, the other people on my team, the other girls didn't have that because they already had their friends like 30 minutes away or an hour away, you know, and they had their family, so they I feel maybe they didn't feel the same pressure with that, but I felt because of the language barrier, I couldn't show myself the way I was, and I couldn't, you know, I couldn't make jokes or anything, and that was very difficult in the beginning. But I would say after three months that was fine, but the three months just felt very long.

Speaker 6:23

I bad. What were the things that helped you overcome that?

Speaker 1 6:27

So I it definitely helped to have a lot of American friends or contact to Americans in the beginning because I know that people because I would I what didn't take ESL classes because my English was good enough to take normal classes, but and so I know that other people that take ESL tend to then stick to their nationalities, you know, then they make friends with other people from their country, which is great, and that's what I did in Argentina, you know, but I didn't learn any Spanish in Argentina because of that. So I think that helped me a lot because first of all, there weren't any Germans, and then I didn't take ESL classes, and then I also applied for a barista job on campus and forced myself to talk to people, so that was yeah, one of the other main things.

Speaker 7:19

So you threw yourself into the fire, you just got right into it.

Speaker 1 7:24

I just had to, you know.

Speaker 7:26

Good for you. I mean that I think that's the other international students that we've talked to, that's a really common theme. It's just you have to get out of your comfort zone and throw yourself into really uncomfortable situations. And what better way than than to be a barista and have to take orders and speak to people in a rush and jacked up on coffee all day?

Speaker 1 7:48

Yeah, and small talk and everything. Yeah. So that's definitely so. Did the other students that you talked to do something like that as well?

Speaker 7:56

They all had different stories. I think that would actually be a first on the barista side, but they took jobs at school or they were part of clubs.

Speaker 3 8:08

Oh, yeah.

Speaker 8:09

They joined sorority, so it really everyone was a little bit different, but it did have that same common theme of they were putting themselves in a really uncomfortable situation and kind of sinking or swimming. Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3 8:28

Yeah.

Playing Volleyball at Madonna University

Speaker 8:29

And how was it being a part of a team? So you were at Madonna University on scholarship for volleyball. Did it help having that team there as an initial community to be a part of?

Speaker 1 8:43

Yes, that definitely helped initially, especially because I always had my volleyball coach to go to for questions, or every team has multiple coaches. So there's always the support. And also I think it's very good that in the US there's always a student advisor, which is very helpful. It's from the journalism department. I always had one of the main professors to talk to. And yeah, being part of the team, so that was it was positive in that aspect, but it was also challenging because it's very different from what I was used to in Germany, and I knew I would have to adjust to the level of playing and the expectations. And in the so in the US, it's a lot more physical, like the preparation for a volleyball. And I never had that many practices before, you know, like on a regular basis because school was always more important, kind of in my situation in Germany. So I kind of knew what I was getting into, but like with all the like being so loud on the field and everything, that was definitely something I had to get used to because it's not, you know, something I would feel I'm comfortable with either. So another thing I had to get out of my comfort zone to scream words that I didn't feel comfortable saying or because they were new. And then definitely was a lot of pressure because, of course, there's a lot of competition, and yeah, being a part of a sports team, you want to play, but it's also hard because you have to prove yourself all the time. And yeah, that can be tough because, for example, we were over 20 girls and yeah, six play starts, and of course, there are substitutions, but you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 10:22

I do, and now it sounds like that was a lot different than what you experienced in Germany.

Speaker 1 10:28

Yeah, we were fewer players, I would say around 12, and that was almost double. So that was definitely a difference. And then in Germany, we have we don't have high school sports like we do here in the US. So in Germany, we you know, we have to participate in clubs after school, which is you know not the main priority how like the way it is in the US. So I would go to practice two or three times a week, not every day after school, you know.

Speaker 10:57

If you had stayed in Germany and gone to college in Germany and played volleyball there, or I guess, first of all, can you play volleyball in college in Germany?

Speaker 1 11:09

Not really. Oh really? Okay. So it would be Yeah, because every anybody could sign up for this the school volleyball team, you know, and then it's not competitive at all.

Speaker 11:18

Like they're it would have been a totally different experience then if you had stayed in Germany and continued to want to pursue volleyball versus coming to the US.

Speaker 1 11:26

Yes. So for me it was okay, I will go to the US, I will see how much I can really improve to like prove myself or come to an end with volleyball, kind of. I mean, of course, in Germany you can play in adult league and stuff like that, but I don't know if that's something I would want to do.

Speaker 11:42

What are you proudest of in your experience as a volleyball player at Madonna?

Speaker 1 11:49

Oh, as a volleyball player, I think just that I got through it because it was very mentally challenging, and yeah, I just had a lot of challenges with one of the coaches or with some of the players, you know, so that was very difficult. So I'm proud that I got through that. That's basically the main thing.

Speaker 12:13

That's a big accomplishment. And you had I watched an interview with one of your former teammates. She also is an international student. How many other international students, if any, were there on your team when you were there?

Speaker 1 12:28

Actually, like two more, but they were from New Zealand and Australia. So that was a little bit different for them because they didn't have those language barrier. And I think I think c their cultures also match maybe a little bit better. So I felt like they could blend in more easily, even when I was talking to my Polish friend, you know.

Speaker 12:50

So were there other international students in other sports at Madonna?

Speaker 1 12:55

Oh, yeah, yes, for sure. So other sports had a lot more international students, and it was very nice to connect with them later on. So those were honestly, those were like the fl the friends that stuck around and that are still my friends. So it's very nice that the connection I was able to make with other international students from Brazil or Venezuela or Poland.

Speaker 13:20

Did you find their experiences were similar or different from what you were going through?

Speaker 1 13:25

Oh, definitely similar. And I think it's it's very helpful to connect with other international students, not when it comes to the language, you know, but I think definitely for to find somebody who, you know, asks you the right questions, asks you if you miss your family, or you know, it's it's more because they're probably feeling similar things, and that's why I think it's a better, or even if somebody grew up in Europe, they have are more likely to have experienced similar school systems and stuff like that. So yeah.

Speaker 14:00

And you were a good hookup. They always needed where to go for a good cup of coffee, right?

Speaker 1 14:04

Oh yeah, right.

Speaker 14:06

Yeah. Probably made you some friends.

Speaker 1 14:08

Um, yeah, a little bit. I was always it definitely helped me talk to people a lot and practice small talk because in Germany we don't do a lot of small talk, you know. It's very I think how you imagine Germans, a little bit colder, and you know, we only talk about the things that are necessary, not really about how the day is going. So that was very nice here, and yeah, and then sometimes I was able to give them a coffee for free.

Speaker 14:36

But are there certain things that you find help bring you out of your shell and get out of that more formal way you said is more that stereotypical German?

Speaker 1 14:49

Yeah, yeah, I think definitely always doing the things, not thinking about it too much, just taking that job, going with it, you know, and then also having American friends, seeing what they are doing. I had one friend, she was always saying hi to everybody. So, like after a while, I kept saying hi to people. So, definitely the repetition and just getting out of your comfort zone over and over again.

Speaker 15:18

Did they make any special accommodations for you as an international student? Did they have any special programs on the athletic side of things to help support, or were you thrown in as if you were like any other domestic student?

Speaker 1 15:36

Yeah, athletic-wise, it was just I think the same as anybody else. Of course, the coaches were saying, like, oh, on the weekends, you know, like in the beginning, they connected me with some girls. So if there was nothing going on on the weekends, somebody would take me home with them. So they you know, they think about the fact that if I wouldn't go with anybody, I would be alone in my room, you know. So that's definitely something that was I got help with, and you know, of course, and then there are resources, like the coaches are resources for like how to maybe get the driver's license or a car and those things. So it's definitely good to have this athletic family, I would say.

Speaker 16:24

And when you did go home to other teammates' families and get to be with them on holidays or breaks, were there any traditions or things that really stood out that you liked that you weren't used to from Germany?

Speaker 1 16:41

Yeah, like Thanksgiving. You know, we don't have Thanksgiving at home, so that was awesome. Every year I went home with with somebody, so that was very, very nice to experience that. And yeah, also going to football games and all these things, or other high school games as well, because of their siblings or something like that. That was also very nice, and just meeting their families because then you know, yeah, it's just like this family feeling, but also a little bit different. So that was really, really cool.

Speaker 17:14

Yeah. What are the things you missed most from Germany?

Speaker 1 17:18

Uh, definitely my family and friends, and from the normal normal things, I do miss the German bread that was always um, that's very good. And you know, of course, it would be nice to have home cooked meals sometimes, you know, not just what I make for myself, but what my family would make.

Speaker 17:39

Destroy that German bread for us.

Speaker 1 17:42

So in Germany, we call what you guys call bread, we call it toast. So our bread is more thick, I think, and it's just more filling. So I don't know. I could eat here, I could eat three slices of toast, and I would still be okay, you know. And in Germany, so that's I think the difference. Like it's it's like bread is seen as healthy, whereas here, you know, it's okay, it's uh bad, we should cut it out because it's bad carbs, you know, kind of thing.

Speaker 18:17

We've got all kinds of good grains in it and good ingredients that have sustenance instead of just fillers.

Speaker 3 18:24

Yeah.

Speaker 18:27 Speaker 1 18:57

So yeah, maybe uh maybe what what uh I did at Madonna that helped me uh get to where I am now.

Speaker 19:05

Yeah, yeah, let's do that. So the one thing I have to keep in mind, I'm gonna kind of wind up because it's gonna be split into two episodes. So actually, maybe what we'll do, I don't even know if I need to do uh like a specific outro for this one. I think we're just gonna let's just keep going. I'm gonna just try a little, I'm kind of winging it here. We're gonna try a little something different. Usually I want the episode. Thanks so much for joining us. And but we're just gonna go into what will be our next episode. Okay, and uh we'll do it that way. I think that will work.

Speaker 1 19:42

Do you think that was already interesting enough, or should we add something else?

Speaker 19:46

I think it's I think it was great. I think it was great. Yeah, yeah. I mean, is there anything else that you want to add from your volleyball playing days and experiences at Madonna?

Speaker 1 20:00

Volleyball, not really. What is different is that studying in the US is I think more practical and instead of theoretical, how it would be in Germany. So I think that's very nice. But we can also talk about that in a little bit in the next episode.

Speaker 20:13

Do you have any advice or suggestions for other athletes in other countries who are thinking about coming to the US to compete?

Speaker 1 20:22

Yeah, um yeah, we could we can talk about that. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 20:26

Do you want to scale again? Yeah, you bet. So we've talked about your experiences playing volleyball as an athlete at Madonna. What advice, if any, would you give other students from Germany, from other countries who are athletes who are thinking about coming to the US to compete?

Speaker 1 20:47

Yeah, so I think first of all, I would try to come as fit as possible. So really with like good a good condition and also as strong as possible, because that's a very important part in the US, I think in all sports. And yeah, even considering because I came with an agency, and I think that's very common for athletes to that want to study in the US to use an agency. But to be honest, I think it's also possible to contact coaches yourself with a highlight video, and then contact once a coach wants you, contact the school, the international advisor, and then maybe go from there. I think there's a way to save money by trying it like this. Of course, the English English skills have to be kind of good enough to do that. So I think that's maybe the main problem why people see, okay, I have to do it with an agency. But I think it's a it's it's worth a try. And I think that would be advice that somebody could have given me that would have helped me, you know.

Speaker 21:58

Could you talk about the agency experience? Experience? Because I I actually wasn't aware that there were agencies dedicated to helping athletes come to the US. Like at Study in the USA, we work or we were familiar with agents who are helping students come to study in the US. But I didn't realize and it sounds like that might be kind of similar, but just on the athletic side of things. So could you describe that a little bit of your experience with the agency?

Speaker 1 22:24

Yeah, so I a little bit had to prove myself to her because it was it's an agency that was specific for volleyball players. And yeah, she had like a lot of national players from Germany that she was trying to get scholarships for, you know, in the US, like at NCAA schools and stuff. And of course it helps because before I came, I didn't know about NCAA or the divisions, NAA and stuff like that. So the person helps with that. But then, you know, there are always it costs a lot, and there are because the person can or the agency can help with a highlight video and edit that for the athlete. And of course, the agency has a lot of connections to US universities and then helps sending the video out, or if they have, I feel like fairs or kind of like that. So they present their players. So it is helpful, especially if somebody wants to get to a big university, but I think it's really also possible without. But of course, they also help with the visa process, you know, explain how to go to the embassy and what to say, what not to say, and how to do the savis application and all of these kind of things. So that's part of the process. But on the athlete side, it's definitely the creating the connection with the coach, which is something that I think is possible, you know, without and also creating no, and also creating the highlight video. I edited myself as well, but I didn't get in touch with any coaches because I thought, oh, I don't want to overstep, I don't want to do something that I I don't know if I'm supposed to contact a coach or not, but people can actually do that, you know. Like here, if I would contact a coach, the worst they can do is not answer.

Speaker 24:15

So and do you pay the agency out out of your own pocket to represent you and help you get placed at a school?

Speaker 1 24:24

Yes. Or, you know, of course, I had help from my family, but yes.

Speaker 24:30

And it sounds like from your experience, if you had to do it all over again, you felt comfortable being a little more proactive on your own and realizing that okay, I'm not overstepping my bound by sending tapes to other schools, to coaches, to promoting yourself and not just relying on an agency to do it.

Speaker 1 24:51

Yes, I think that would definitely be helpful to do that. That could also give some security, you know, because then you as the as the athlete, you actually feel like, okay, uh, I'm productive too, you know. I'm not just waiting for an answer because I waited for a long time, you know, to hear. So yeah, that's definitely something I would suggest. And then I saw, you know, I saw saw it here, like how the international advisor was helping other students, you know. So I was thinking, okay, she literally would tell them what to do exactly, what's how to apply for the school. I'm not sure about the visa question, like how to then figure out the student visa, but as long as the international advisor can help with that, I think it's possible.

Speaker 25:37

Great. That is helpful advice.

unknown 25:39

Yeah.

Speaker 25:40

So we see a lot of other Luisas coming into the US to compete. Hopefully, yeah. Thank

Broadcast Journalism Career

Speaker 25:47

you. All right, so we've talked about your volleyball experiences and coming to the US. Of course, you were studying, right? At the same time, you weren't just playing volleyball, you were studying and you were actually following your passion. Journalism. Yes. Broadcast journalism. You had mentioned that when you were 13, you first got turned on to broadcast journalism, and it's been a dream ever since. Talk about the program at Madonna and your studies there to start prepping for your journalism career.

Speaker 1 26:24

Yes, for sure. So I came to Madonna to study journalism and PR. And then, you know, once I got there, I was like, oh no, I think I'm in the wrong program because I realized that I wasn't going to be at in the TV studio because they also have a TV studio and radio. But and that was part of the broadcast and cinema arts program. But then after talking to my journalism advisor, okay, I was like, okay, that's still the right decision because broadcast broadcast and cinema arts at Madonna was more about creating a movie, you know, and for people that want to be in film production and stuff like that. So that was actually still good. But I was able to do a minor in that and then was able to still produce a TV show on campus. So that was one of the greatest experiences, I thought, because we produced a talk show called Celebrate Michigan on campus. Yeah. And then in general, in the beginning, I didn't feel comfortable doing internships off campus because of course I, you know, I didn't feel like I could with my English, I didn't feel comfortable yet. And yeah, so I did some internships on campus. For example, I wrote articles for the school magazine, kind of, and then I also did an internship with the athletic information department because I thought, okay, maybe sports reporting is something that would be good for me because I wasn't sure at that time anymore. I always knew before okay, I wanted to be a news anchor, but you know, when I got to Madonna, I thought it would be good to explore all the options. And yeah, after an internship with them, where I took pictures and I edited videos and wrote sports articles and stuff like that was actually nice as well. Or do I did a lot of social media during my time at Madonna, but that's something I don't want to do in the future, so that was a good thing too, to find out what I don't want to do. And those are the best lessons. Yeah.

Speaker 28:27

So now when you when you mentioned celebrate Michigan show, you you lit up a little bit. Tell us more about that show and what you reported on and what you loved about it.

Speaker 1 28:40

Yeah, I really liked producing as well because I felt okay, I don't need to be in front of the camera. It's also super nice to see the product of the script for because I wrote as the producer, I wrote the script for the host of the show. And yeah, I had a few nice, interesting guests, you know, that were like episodes I produced. And that was just super nice because I, you know, I had all the work before the show, and then during the show, I was like, okay, it's the responsibility is all of my hands. There's nothing I can do if something goes wrong. So that was kind of a nice feeling, and also still having the pride of okay, I I had an impact on this. So that's something I liked. And yeah, one of the guests was a local organization for who advocates for sorry, that advocates for suicide prevention. And yeah, I just like addressing these kind of topics. Now I'm happy that I do that on a not daily basis, like a topic like this, but more often. So news is still right for me, I think. But celebrate Michigan was really a good experience and kind of helped me also make some professional connections. I was able to do an internship with one of the guests who were who was on the show. He was he's a movie reviewer and celebrity interviewer. So then I did an internship with him. That was actually an internship off campus, you know. So I edited his celebrity interviews, which was also a nice experience. Yeah.

Speaker 30:18

And we're gonna come back to your work at Fox 47, your current journalism work and your news reporting work. And but it sounds like that celebrate Michigan and these internships were really the perfect stepping stone because you got a job at a Lansing station. And so all that knowledge of Michigan came into play, and then being able to produce and write, put together a show, that's all still things that you utilize on a daily basis to put together your segments that you report on.

Speaker 1 30:54

Yes, and then also video editing as part of the other internship, you know. So that was definitely what helped me, I think, get the job as well. Of course, it would have been great to have a TV internship, but at the time with COVID, that's what I tried, but it yeah, I felt ready too late, you know, during COVID. That's when I felt ready to have an internship like that, but then it wasn't possible anymore. So yeah, I'm glad that I that the other experiences were still enough to get the first job. And yeah, after I graduated, I also tried to like also worked a little bit as a freelancer, you know. So I also took pictures of people, edited those, and um videos, for example, wedding videos. So all these things I did so I could keep practicing and improving those skills. And I think that's like constantly doing something that brings you forward, I think actually helps, you know.

Speaker 31:54

Just having that forward momentum, always always one step in front of the other and making progress, right?

Speaker 1 32:02

Yeah. And then oh go ahead. Yeah. No, sorry, when I then when I graduated, I also worked at a video production company first because I didn't initially get a job as a multimedia journalist. So I just wanted to mention that.

Speaker 32:15

Yeah. When you first got into the program at Madonna, could you envision yourself being on a television station as an on-air reporter?

Speaker 1 32:27

So that was always so my goal was always to become a news anchor, but I didn't think that would happen in the US, you know. And especially because I knew very quickly that my accent was very strong. So that's something people constantly the accent is something people constantly point out. So I didn't think it would be possible here, but I'm glad it is. And I think it just shows that we should keep trying and that we should keep believing in ourselves because I know that it can be hard, like in the second language. We I think it's easy to doubt ourselves because we think, oh, we are not capable of this, we are not capable of this, but I think we should believe we are capable of everything we're also capable in in our own language. And I know that I'm capable of these things in German. So why shouldn't I be after practicing and practicing, you know, in English?

Speaker 33:21

It is, I don't want to, I don't want to gloss over how big of an accomplishment it is for you to have gotten an on-air job so shortly after school. I I have one of my best friends growing up, his name is Steve Bunan, and he is now a news anchor here in Seattle, Washington with King Five. He's won Emmy Awards locally, he had a career for 10 years at ESPN, and I remember him when he was first starting out, how hard it was to get any job. He was having to travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, and ironically, one of his early jobs was in Lansing. Really? Yes, no worries, and he had to travel anywhere and everywhere, work for nothing, he had gaps where there was a year or two where he couldn't find a job. It's hard. And he went to Syracuse, went to a top university for journalism and broadcast, and he is super talented, and it took a lot. So for you to be able to find a job, not only a job, but in Michigan, in the area where you're already at, and to overcome the accent and still be able to find a position so early on is a huge accomplishment.

Speaker 1 34:56

Thank you. Yeah, but I want people to know that, you know, I got a lot of no's I was denied a lot, just so that people know that that's also part of it. It's not just, you know, so but your example perfectly shows it because yeah, I can relate to having this struggle of you know working hard and not knowing what's next or all these things, because I feel like it's I know where all my colleagues are at also. They think about where the next step will be, you know. So that's also uncertain because who knows which station in the US is going to take us next, you know?

Speaker 35:34

So yeah, yeah, there's tons of uncertainty. You don't know what's gonna happen the next month, the next year. So I guess it's just enjoy what you've got right now, right?

Speaker 1 35:44

Yeah.

Speaker 35:45

Yeah. What are your favorite questions to ask someone when you do you get to interview them?

Speaker 1 35:54

I think it's always good to ask if they can describe like a certain situation or a memory, because then it can lead to something that I wasn't aware of before instead of just questions that would just clarify things that I was already reading about or something. So I like to ask that. I always ask at the end if there's anything they would like to add because there's always something that still might come up, and yeah.

Speaker 36:22

How does TV journalism differ in Germany from the US?

Speaker 1 36:30

So since I never had a job in German television like yet, um cannot completely compare the two. But first of all, I think that we don't have as many opportunities in Germany just because we the country is way smaller and there are just not as many channels. And then I also think it's a little bit more maybe straightforward, a little bit more monotone, maybe not as many. I think in Germany we are we don't portray as many feelings and stuff. Whereas here, when I asked somebody for criticism, you know, they were saying, Oh, you need to show if it's a happy story, you need whereas in my mind is oh no, I cannot show it's happy because then I'm judging it because whereas it's not a bad thing to show, okay, a dog story can be something happy or something, you know.

Speaker 37:22

And you've overcome a lot of challenges to get where you are, especially being from overseas and making your way in the US. When are times when you've said to yourself, you know what, being from overseas is actually helping me in my job and giving me an advantage over some of my US-born colleagues?

Speaker 1 37:43

Yeah, I've actually that I felt that recently because I did some stories on bilingual students and high school and stories on Afghan refugees, refugees and Ukrainian refugees. And of course, I'm not a refugee and cannot relate to that, but I feel like if they're shy talking to me because they have a language barrier, or yeah, if they talk about some experiences they have in their country or what they experienced coming here as something that's new, I feel like I can relate to them. Or I also did a story on international students, then of course I could easily on student athletes. So I could easily relate to that, but I think that really helps me because, for example, I did a story on Chinese businesses, and somebody wasn't really comfortable being interviewed. But I said, No, look, I have an accent, I'm on TV, and it's fine, you know, I'm going to edit the things, and then he agreed to the interview. So I was very happy and felt like, okay, it's so nice because I could make him feel better.

Speaker 38:48

That's a great example. And when you do these types of stories, some of them get emotional, some of them are challenging. How do you take care of yourself afterward and really allow yourself to let things go at the end of the workday? And so you're not carrying them home with you.

Speaker 1 39:08

Yeah, that's definitely hard. And one time that was very challenging for me because I did a story on a woman who lost her son to anorexia, and that really she wrote a book, so I and I read the book before the interview, so that was already too, I don't want to say too much, but I was relating to it too much, you know, thinking about it too much, basically. And it's definitely helpful to talk to family and friends about it afterwards, kind of to let get it out, but also on a daily basis, like when I feel really stressed, I go to the gym and run. That makes me feel better and kind of forget about it.

Speaker 39:46

Yeah, yeah, it's always helpful. Like exercise, and especially with your background in volleyball and just in sports. You get rid of the mental through the physical.

Speaker 1 39:58

Yes. That's a good one.

Speaker 40:00

Yeah. I'm curious, one of the things that came up in some conversations that I have with my friend Steve that I mentioned is how he really had to change his use of social media when he started working as an anchor at King Five. Have you noticed? I was just thinking when you came from college, and you know, you can throw on it, throw up. Hey, had a great time with my girlfriends tonight, had a couple shots at the bar, yeah, and now all of a sudden you are a face of the community, you're on air. Talk about any changes you had to make to your social media habits, any scrubbing that you had to do, and how that's been.

Speaker 1 40:47

I always thought a lot about things I posted. So it's not that I was like carelessly posting bikini pictures or anything like that, or partying. So that's already something I was always thinking about. But of course, I still and I could have created a new account for my job, but I also felt like that's not what people want because also kind of our company or the channel, they kind of say that it would be good if people see our personality as well, you know. It shouldn't just be like, oh, today I reported on this here. It should be like maybe, oh, I have a pet and I show it, or you know, like stuff like that, so people can relate to us or feel like maybe also they can approach us and share a story idea with us, I think. So I decided to make my Instagram account public, but and I still took off some pictures that I thought, okay, if every anybody can see that now, then I still took out pictures that I was not comfortable with people seeing, maybe. And yeah, it's definitely weird to know okay, everything is public about me now, and that also strangers contact me sometimes, you know, that didn't happen before. Um yeah, I am I'm curious what your friend said, but yeah, I yeah, he didn't talk to me.

Speaker 42:12

He talked, I mean, it sounds like you were way ahead of the curve. And look, my friend, same thing, it's not like he had these salacious photos on his social media anyway. But I think it's just in the world we live in now where news stations they are relying on their personalities to also promote themselves and promote the station via social media, it's uh another job for him. You know, I've I've been out with him and he's taking a picture of something so he can post it, and it's almost like part of the job description now.

Speaker 1 42:48

Oh wow, yeah. I mean, I feel like that is the expectation. We are not being like held, we are not pressured to do it, so maybe I don't feel that yet, you know. But I definitely I share all my stories on Twitter and Facebook, and I usually don't use Facebook and Twitter. Um, so yeah, it does add something to it. It's just I'm not too much yet. That's good, but I can definitely see it, and it's weird to think, okay, now there's so much of me out there. That's a weird thought. Yeah.

Speaker 43:22

Yeah, well, and especially talking about how you consider yourself kind of shy and reserved, that's gotta be a big adjustment for you.

Speaker 1 43:31

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm on TV, so now I cannot say, oh, I'm shy, you know, but like it's yeah, my personality is more I'm not super like an extrovert. No.

Speaker 43:42

Yeah. If you could have lunch with or spend a day with one television news personality, oh god, just pick their brain and try to take in as much from them as possible, who would you choose? And they could. Be it could be someone who's still alive or someone who is no longer with us.

Speaker 1 44:05

Oh god, I don't know.

Speaker 44:07

That's do you have any certain TV personalities that you most admire?

Speaker 1 44:14

To be honest, not really. I'm um I'm like following a lot of different people and but not too specific. So there's nobody that like of course I would like to talk to national or international politicians, you know, what like why they think the way they think, or this kind of stuff.

Speaker 44:34

Yeah.

Speaker 1 44:35

But yeah, like I have no journalists in mind right now.

Speaker 44:40

Are there certain people that you feel like have been most influential to your career? You had mentioned the internship that you had with the filmmaker, and would you consider that person one of the more influential people to your career? Are there others that you really point to that you feel like really helped you out?

Speaker 1 45:00

Yeah, like I met um a reporter through um my previous job. So he has been very helpful because he gives me feedback to my stories and also honest feedback, which is good because you know I it's not helpful if somebody just says, okay, it's fine, you know. So even though he has been tough sometimes, it's that's very good and helpful, and also calming because he would say, Yeah, it's normal that you're doing it like this now, or things get better with time with time, you know. And I'm actually I high I edited a highlight video of myself, like a demo reel like two months ago, and then again yesterday, actually, and I improved a lot, which I didn't think I did, you know. So that's very nice that repetition really helps improve in this job. And also previous professors still support me and really also help me. And one of my previous professors, she worked as a reporter for many, many years, and she was very, very good. So it's very helpful also to know her feedback, yes.

Speaker 46:06

And when you were learning and progressing toward being on air, I know the accent was a challenge, and you did uh a segment on ESL learners English as a second language learner. Yeah. So that was kind of things coming full circle.

Improving Your Accent & Language Tips

Speaker 46:25

What advice or tips do you incorporate for improving your accent, your pronunciation? Because even for people who English is their first language, your voice, your pronunciation, that's really your instrument for news reporting. So it's something that you always have to work on. And I'm thinking that you given your position of having to overcome an accent as well, you could really offer some good advice to international students who are just trying to learn English and trying to improve their pronunciation and accent. So what did you use that helped you the most?

Speaker 1 47:10

For me right now, it's really feedback from other people. So if somebody says what sound isn't sound isn't right, then changing that. For example, I I don't know if I did that, but I mean I know there are a lot of sounds that sound weird probably to you. But but for example, my CH sound, sometimes it's more like shh and not sh not strong, so not changes. So that's something I was like practicing. And for English learners, I think it would be best to really repeat the things the way Americans say them. Because for me, when I learned English in Germany, I felt I always felt uncomfortable, you know, this ex because it felt like exaggerating, this going up and down with the with the voice, the intonation. And that's something that I think would help the accent, you know, if I would always go up and down with my voice. So I think for English brothers, it's really helpful to watch American movies and series and then just repeat it the way they speak. And other than that, there's accent coaching, it's just very expensive. So I haven't done it yet, but I'm not I'm not opposed to it, you know.

Speaker 48:25

Do you do any tongue twisters to warm up? No.

Speaker 3 48:30

Yeah.

Speaker 48:32

All right. Well, I'm I'm glad you brought up movies as well, because you had majored in journalism and PR, you minored in broadcast and cinema art. So I wanted to have a little fun and see if we could combine the two. So, do you have any favorite movies that are focused on the news, on your personalities or well, actually, like recently I liked inventing Anna because it was about the journalist mainly like reporting about her, you know, and trying to get her to an interview.

Speaker 1 49:09

I think that was really good. And you know, in some situations, I thought about okay, what would I do, you know? So that's nice. I like all those. I and I like romantic comedies, so sometimes romantic comedies have like a writer in them, right?

Speaker 49:25

So for sure, not many like news anchors, I feel like, but so you haven't watched like Anchorman or The Morning Show or any of those type.

Speaker 1 49:34

No, I actually haven't.

Speaker 49:36

Oh you need to.

Speaker 1 49:38

Okay, okay.

Speaker 49:39

Yes, put it on the list. Put Anchorman for some laughs and newsroom for some high pressure, high stakes. Totally other end of the spectrum of TV reporting.

Speaker 3 49:52

Okay, yeah, then I will do that.

Speaker 49:54

Okay. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, you vet. Are there anything that any things that we haven't covered that you want

Advice for International Students

Speaker 50:02

to no?

Speaker 1 50:03

I think it's really just important that we, because international students, you know, believe in our dreams and still try everything we can to achieve them. I think it's also good. What I think helped me was that of course I never said, oh, I would definitely be a news anchor one day or a news reporter, but I always, when somebody would ask me what I would want to be, I always still said, you know, I openly said it, which I think it's it's easy to not say, you know, and not admit, oh, because some dreams are very big, you know. But I think it helps to say the dream out and out because maybe your classmate or professor might help you in the future, or you know, or somebody do you talk to? Because if you wouldn't talk about it, how are you going to you know connect with people about it? So I think that's very helpful that I think I like to tell people as advice.

Speaker 51:01

Is the dream still to be an anchor?

Speaker 1 51:04

I really like the job I'm doing right now. So sometimes I in the morning I anchor the morning headlines, which is you know not the main anchor, but that's already part of it. So now I like having both because as an anchor, I don't know if I would I would probably not do stories and interview people. So I like reporting as well. So I will see what come what comes next.

Speaker 51:27

Still finding your way.

Speaker 1 51:28

Yes.

Speaker 51:29

You're fortunate to be finding your way in a job and in a very enviable position that it takes a lot of people a lot of time to get. And I know you put in a ton of hard work to get there, and I'm glad that's paying off. And clearly you have a ton of talent, and I hope you get to continue sharing that talent with the world. And thank you for the inspiration that you provided today to all international students.

Speaker 1 51:58

Thank you so much, really. I appreciate that. And I hope it helps somebody, and yeah, people can always contact me, like other international students, if they have any questions or need advice.

Speaker 52:08

That's great. We will take you up on that. We'll put all of your contact information in the show notes. And you already said you're used to people contacting you, strangers contacting you on social media. So hopefully you won't mind a few international students from our show jumping in.

Speaker 1 52:24

No, not at all.

Speaker 52:25

All right. Thank you, Louisa.

Speaker 1 52:27

Thank you. Bye.