APRIL ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: ELLEN KAY COLLINS (BENTON) AS '89

I’m really glad I ended up at Vincennes. The learning process was exactly what I needed. I liked the hands-on approach, and it’s what got me through a lot of my tests. I was on-air within a couple of weeks of starting school. There was an on-campus radio station called WROK. I worked there, and I worked at WVUT. As part of my internship program, I worked also for WZDM. I liked the mix of going to school while working at all these places. I did on-air work, and camera work outside and inside for the television station. The staff were really good about working with students. It was a tight-knit group. What was unique was working so closely with everyone. I liked that pretty much everyone had worked in the industry somewhere outside of the school. I appreciated their realistic perspectives. I lived in Morris Hall. My resident advisor stuck around for only the first semester, so they asked me to take over her spot. I became a RA my first year and was assistant dorm director over the summer session. There were a few other broadcasters in my dorm, so I got to know other people. I played card games a lot, and we were called ‘the lounge lizards.’ I got my bachelor’s, and I was able to go right into the radio station on campus without any issues whatsoever. I was able to be in television without any issues. I have worked at ad agencies as well. My first job took me to Anchorage, Alaska. I moved to Alabama after Alaska and worked at an ad agency and a radio station. I then moved back to Springfield, Illinois, and got a job doing radio traffic. I still use my education from VU. Many of the things I learned from college were from experiences beyond my degree. I’m grateful for what I was taught through other people’s lives.