About Kayla
Ever since I was young, I have always had a passion for knowing what was going on in the world around me. I began my journey into broadcast journalism in 2007 when I joined my middle school's morning announcements program, "Good Morning JTL". As a part of the basic program, I learned how to operate video and sound equipment, work with a green screen, author scripts and anchor. When I moved on to high school, I helped to create a morning announcements program called "South Side Live". This program was broadcast live to a television in every classroom of my high school, reaching over 1,000 students each day. While a part of this program, I was able to work with feature video packages, Final Cut Pro, digital video switching equipment, and in-field reporting and coverage. My senior year of high school, I was the director of "South Side Live".
My experiences with broadcast journalism in high school led me to the College of Communications at Penn State. As a freshman, I learned basic concepts of news writing and production in the broadcast industry. During my sophomore year, I refined my skills in news writing and radio production in upper-level journalism classes. As a junior, I worked on various television production packages, expanding my skills as a reporter, editor, videographer and producer. I was a member of the Centre County Report, an Emmy-award winning newscast run by students in the College of Communications at Penn State. In addition, I interned at WPSU-FM, where I was able to work various roles, including transcribing tape, in-field reporting, pitching ideas and editing projects. I worked as a visual journalist for The Bucks County Courier Times (Calkins Media, Inc.) where I created content for the print newspaper and the web. I covered protests and rallies during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in 2016. I worked as a News Reporting Intern at NBC4 D.C. during the fall of 2016, where I was able to create content for the web as well as work during the 2016 Presidential Election. As senior I traveled to Panama with Penn State's International Reporting Class over spring break. I interviewed subjects in both English and Spanish and am currently working on a package in each language.
I am involved in various other activities outside of school. Throughout my time as a student at Penn State, I have maintained a position as a student manager in the Findlay Dining Commons, working 30 hours a week with full-time staff and student workers. I studied abroad in Ronda, Spain during the summer of 2015, where I lived with a host family for five weeks as I took classes while immersed in the Spanish culture. For the past two years, I have been an active member of a Dancer Relations Committee for the Penn State Dance MaraTHON, the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. As a Dancer Relations Committee Member, I provide emotional and physical support to one of 700 dancers while they raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research during a 46-hour no-sit, no-sleep dance marathon.