Alumni Creators Putting in the work

Tessa Spencer ’90
Communication and theatre major, Spanish minor
Anchor, WCIV ABC News 4; radio personality, voice over artist, U.S. Army Reserve veteran

Dream job?
I started out as a Spanish major. I wanted to teach high school Spanish!

Changing media
The biggest changes in media have come since we entered the digital era. There are more ways to reach larger audiences. News/music consumers now have access through streaming, social media, podcasts and the like.

Getting into media
The advice I give is do your research. Make sure that you are getting into media to provide a service. Many start out with the idea that working in media is glamorous. No. It’s real work. Try to make a connection in the area that you’d like to work in and ask if you can shadow that person or a day or two. You may find being a director or producer is a better fit than a career as a reporter/anchor. And most importantly: PUT IN THE WORK!

Important skill
An important skill set to have—master writing! You’d be surprised the number of recent college grads who haven’t mastered the basic rules of writing.

My family
My husband earned his Master of Science in criminal justice from CSU in May 2025. I have two grown sons: James and Julian, and Kobe, a two-year-old minigolden doodle. I’m also learning how to play the drums!