By Kristina Bowles/reporter

NE senior office assistant Brittany Walker came to TCC five years ago to take basic classes because she wanted to be around faculty and staff who regularly engaged themselves in the growth of the students. 

Walker now knows she made the right decision. She credits Tonia Vaughn, her audio teacher.

“She swore up and down that I had natural talent,” she said. “I just kinda went with that.”

This vote of confidence from that radio-professional-turned-teacher gave Walker the push she needed to come to the radio-TV-film program as a full-time student instead of only taking sporadic elective courses.

Because of Walker’s dedication to her classes and the program, assistant professor and RTVF coordinator Jerry Zumwalt hired her as a senior office assistant.

“People sometimes have this disconnect between what they think it means to be a student and what it means to be an employee,” he said. “It’s as if they think being a student means they have put their life on hold and after graduation they will plug into the real world of work and success.”

Zumwalt said Walker put her passion for radio into her coursework and the opportunities the program provided her.

“It was natural that when we needed someone to help build our radio program as an employee, we would turn to someone who had the zest to make it happen,” he said. “That’s exactly what all employers look for in new hires in any field.”

Radio and especially audio engineering are generally recognized as male-dominated industries.

“Sometimes it worries me a bit, but I know if I can get in somewhere or officially start in my path, I know I’m going to rock it,” she said. “The biggest challenge in a male-dominant industry is staying positive and focused and not letting the men pressure you to quit.”

Richard Neece, RTVF instructional associate and program graduate, does not align success with being a male.

“Brittany will need to continue to stay focused on the direction she wants to go and continue to be aggressive in achieving her goals and those of whoever she works for,” he said. “Her positive attitude and organized approach are as important as her technical skills. Those, together, will give her opportunities to excel in the field.”

Because of lessons learned from the RTVF program, Walker said she has started a webstream, set up automation and is continuously perfecting her ability to talk to people. She wants to work on being less aggressive when expressing herself.

Walker has had no challenges in the program that she has not been able to overcome with self-determination and the support of her peers and faculty. She believes many of her peers don’t take advantage of the opportunities available outside of the classroom, so she offered them advice.

“Do extra projects, work with groups so you can have things for your demo reel,” she said. “Don’t complain when you haven’t done anything outside of the classroom.”