Ashlyn Knight. Communication: Broadcast and Digital Journalism

My name is Ashlyn Knight, and I am from LaGrange, Georgia. I was born and raised in this small town for 18 years before deciding I wanted to start over in a completely different state. This is when I chose to go to Mississippi State, at the time, there was only one other person here from my hometown. Now, there are three of us in total.

My favorite thing about my concentration is the hands-on experience I am getting. I have a lot of friends in different majors, and they are not getting near the experience I am. I feel that I will be more than well-equipped for my first job after graduation.

When I graduated high school, I wanted to be an elementary teacher. I began school here and quickly changed my mind after I was immediately placed in a classroom. I then changed my major to political science and quickly realized I was too opinionated for politics. I finally decided to follow my lifelong dream of becoming the next Erin Andrews or Alyssa Lang. I spoke with a few different people within the major and decided to make my decision of Communication with a concentration in Broadcast and Digital Journalism, to one day become a sideline reporter for a professional sports team.

I chose Broadcasting because I knew I wanted to be in front of a camera. At the time, I was unaware of the knowledge I would be receiving, such as how to work behind the camera and edit the footage I created. I have found it very interesting to learn all the things that I will be applying then and now. I am very eager to learn more about being in front of the camera which I have slowly began putting my feet in and I am loving it.

My favorite project I have done is TV3 for Intro to TV, I chose to cover the Trashion fashion show that the MSU fashion board puts on. It was very interesting to see all the things that each person has to do to make this show perfect. It almost reminded me of a sporting event. A sporting event is timed down to the millisecond, and the fashion show also appears that way. Not to mention how interesting it was to see the absolute talent of the designers.

I enjoy writing, photography, and video, but after I took photo comm this past winter, I grew a new love for photography. Learning how to use the camera properly and how to set it to get a properly exposed image. I enjoyed getting to see life through the lens. It was cool to see how life completely stops behind a lens.

In this class, I am interested to learn about how to put all the things I have learned this far together. I am intrigued to learn how to coordinate writing, photos, and video. I think this class will be beneficial to my career, speaking in terms of creating my own website someday and uploading my personal reels.

My career plans are kind of bleak at the moment. I graduate in May, and I am currently trying to set something up for a post-grad job. I am looking to move back closer to home and live in Auburn, AL. My family would only be 40 minutes away compared to 4 hours.

I am trying to get a job working with Auburn Athletics in some way and eventually move to the SEC network or ESPN and begin my time as an anchor or reporter. I would like to do college sports for around 3-5 years until I am married, and then I want to eventually get in with professional sports. NBA or MLB is the end goal for me.

I feel that my knowledge of sports has prepared me for this. I grew up watching sports my whole life. Being from Georgia, I grew up going to Braves games. My dad used to work for Auburn Athletics security, so I got to go to practices and stand on the field for certain events. My uncle created my love for the NBA. I would get to go stay with him whenever the Celtics were playing, and he made sure I knew exactly what was going on. I was never a kid who wanted to watch cartoons, I always asked for whatever sporting event was on. I even enjoy watching UFC fighting. All sports are my cup of tea, and I can’t wait to pursue my dreams.

Email me at agk171@msstate.edu with any questions