Rory Nelson ’99 shares her start as a producer in D.C.

A self-designed major in broadcast journalism at Ripon College has paid big dividends for Rory Nelson ’99 of Arlington, Va. She now is producer of the 11 p.m. news at WUSA9 in Washington, D.C.
Nelson says her job is unpredictable and exciting. “I really love producing breaking news, especially when it’s a huge story that requires us to be live on the air for several hours,” she says. “Plus, I’ve gotten to meet some pretty cool people.”

From a young age, Nelson felt destined to work in television. “My mom had the news on every night while she made dinner,” she says. “I remember watching and thinking it would be a cool job.”
While attending Ripon, Nelson took part in an off-campus study opportunity in Washington, D.C., and interned for CBS television. “The first day of my internship, the Monica Lewinsky story broke,” she says. “It was an amazing experience, and after that I was hooked!”

After graduation, she says, she took a job running the audio board at WFRV television in Green Bay, Wis. A few months later, a producer position opened up, and she has been producing news ever since.

“I’ve worked my way up, which involved working a lot of crazy shifts and moving around,” she says. “Despite all of it, I find working in news rewarding, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”