2023 Grad Ariel Reed Scores Her Dream Job

by Web Services May 17, 2023

May 17, 2023

WANT TO SCORE YOUR DREAM JOB?

The job search can be a stressful rite of passage for many soon-to-be college graduates, but not Ariel Reed. Reed landed job offers from not one but two TV stations before the end of the fall semester. “It’s unheard of to get a TV offer eight months before you graduate,” Reed says. By the time she started her last semester of classes, Reed signed a contract with KFDX in Wichita Falls, Texas, where she’ll report on news and sports as a multimedia journalist.

Since her earliest days on campus, the communication studies/sports management double major from Woodbury, Pennsylvania, was willing to say yes to every opportunity to learn more, starting off with entry-level positions before moving into leadership roles. “I have a stacked resume from being able to do so many things at a university like Wilkes,” says Reed.

Reed’s mix of academics and activities put her in a prime spot to score her dream job. She kept moving as a center and forward for the women’s basketball team, producer for the campus TV station, president of the Sports Management Club, member of Future Business Leaders of America and station manager for the University’s radio station, 90.7 WCLH.

The Karambelas Media and Communication Center helped draw Reed to Wilkes during her college search and the space became the hub for many of her co-curricular activities. “I saw the comm studies facilities and it felt like the right fit,” says Reed. “I knew it offered the state-of-the-art technology and hands-on experience I could use to grow.”

As radio station manager, Kristen Rock was a big part of Reed’s college team. An alumna herself, Rock enjoys mentoring students, particularly in the radio space. “There’s a certain trust and understanding that develops over time when you work alongside your students instead of over them.”

Rock feels fortunate to have had a front-row seat to Reed’s growth over the last four years, from stepping in to help out in the sports department to serving as a mentor in her own right to younger students. “She’s taken her passion for learning new things and blossomed into this force,” says Rock. “I can’t think of a better example of what I’d want a graduate to look like.”