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Describe your TV station.
KVOA's coverage area includes most of southern Arizona straight to the Mexican border. We're constantly reporting on human smuggling, the Mexican drug cartel, and border security. Wildfires are also a major problem here, because it's so hot and so dry. (The temperature went above 90 degrees in March!) But, when it does rain, we have flash flooding. Tucson doesn't have much of a drainage system. During monsoon season, many streets become impassible.

What do you do?
I anchor "Eyewitness News 4 Daybreak" every weekday morning from 5:25 to 7:00 am and news cut-ins every 25 minutes, during "Today." I am also responsible for booking the guests for the morning newscast and writing the scripts for their interviews. Often, I report live at noon or put together a health story for the 5 p.m. show.

How did you get your job?
I sent a resume tape, cover letter, and resume to the news director. She liked what she saw and paid for me to fly to Tucson for an interview. But, the day I arrived, she had a baby. I never met her in person, until my first day on the job!

Best professional lesson learned at J-School:
The best professional lesson I learned - write like you talk! Television news is meant to be conversational. You can't read straight from the AP wire. You have to finesse the language to make it easy to understand, straightforward, and clear. Don't use clutter your copy with unnecessary prepositional phrases and five syllable words. Stick to subject, verb, object. Choose common words. Use short sentences. You'll connect with the viewers and give them what they need to know in 20 seconds instead of 35.

What is your favorite J-School memory?
I will never forget traveling to Florida with four "sport-os" to cover spring training games for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. A Tennessee native, I knew next to nothing about either team. But, I scored two features stories and one sports piece out of the trip. I even interviewed Garth Brooks. He was raising money for his charity by playing for the New York Mets.

What would be your best advice to current students?
Work hard for solid stories and live shots to put on your resume tape. Listen to your professors and ask for their advice often. You can always improve. Make friends with your classmates. One day, they may help you get your dream job. Don't take the first job offer that comes along if it doesn't feel right. Trust your instincts and wait for the right position.

What are you working on currently?
KVOA is the media sponsor for the Race for the Cure 2004 in Tucson. I am the station's spokesperson for the event. I'm working on a series of stories and live interviews for "Daybreak" to help promote early detection, fitness, and good health. I am also training to run the 5K. I am not a runner, so it's a big challenge for me! My mother and mother-in-law are both breast cancer survivors.

What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?
I reported from the southern Outer Banks in North Carolina, when Hurricane Isabel struck the east coast. I was the only reporter from my DMA going live from the sandy banks of the Atlantic Ocean. I was able to show the viewers the 25 foot waves cresting over the Iron Steamer Pier in Bogue Banks. When the wind got too strong, I sat in the TV car and called in my reports live on the cell phone. Residents watched me on TV and listened to me on the radio. My reports helped them know, if their homes were still standing and when it was safe for them to return to their neighborhoods to assess the damage.

What makes you good at your job?
I love to tell stories.

Who would you like to work with?
I would like to work with Tom Brokaw. He's a great storyteller, and the viewers trust him as their "newsman."

What did you want to be as a kid?
Fifth grade - that's when I knew I wanted to be a broadcast journalist. My elementary school was celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Our teachers asked us to make T-shirts depicting our "dream" for the future. In silver puffy paint, I drew a big television set. Inside, I sketched myself, pigtails and all, with a microphone in my hand.