Porter Scholarship winner pursues childhood aspirations
Junior Connor Kiesel recently won the Susan Porter Scholarship, a Scripps Howard Foundation award in honor of the long-term newspaper employee of the E.W. Scripps Company. The broadcast major from Huntington, NY, said he is thrilled to be honored among peers he respects.
“The scholarship means a great deal to me,” Kiesel said. “It is an honor to be recognized by one of the utmost journalism establishments in the country. The accomplishments of many of the students being recognized were astounding and to be honored alongside them was a privilege.”
Long before he chose to pursue journalism at Scripps, Kiesel possessed a concrete idea of what he wanted to do with his life.
“Ever since I was a kid I have wanted to be a sportscaster,” Kiesel said. “Back in the day I would sit in my living room on Sundays listening to Pat Summerall call NFL games and then try my own. Some people said they wanted to be firefighters or policemen in the kindergarten yearbook. I wanted to be a sportscaster.”
Kiesel said his time at Scripps has helped him clarify why he was enamored with the profession as a child.
“The ability to capture a moment or lend your voice to a momentous game excites me so much,” Kiesel said. “Journalism allows you to be a storyteller, which is another aspect I love. Broadcasting appeals to me because I love written and spoken communication and the idea of describing a moment in an eloquent manner or using your voice to guide a story.”
Kiesel reports and anchors for the weekly campus show Ohio Sports Zone and produces and reports for WOUB Sports. He has provided color commentary for high school football and basketball games on WXTQ radio and writes weekly basketball articles for VanDelaySports.com. Kiesel said his experiences have allowed him to grasp the fundamentals of broadcasting even before reaching his core classes.
Kiesel hopes to make good on his dream, but said he is open to exploring a host of experiences after leaving OU.
“My dream job would be a play-by-play announcer for just about any sport, but especially football, basketball or baseball,” Kiesel said. “I would love to be working at a major sports outlet, but I will embrace the opportunities that come my way and be open to working in various realms.”
by Joe Vance
- contact Robert Stewart at 740.593.2601
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