I had the pleasure this week of being shadowed by Johnson County Community College Professor Molly Baumgartner.
Not only did Molly get up in the dark hours of the early morning to ride along, she brought great enthusiasm to the morning, even taking detailed notes as I reported from a tragic crime scene in the West Bottoms.
We also had time for a lot of conversation, much of which centered around her students.
She asked questions of me that I could tell her students have asked of her. She was quite eager to obtain my opinions on the broadcast industry as a career and picked my brain about my experiences in both small and large market radio.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few professors like Molly. They genuinely care about their students, and strive daily to give them the very best insight into what to expect from the “real world”.
Molly’s choice to spend time in our newsroom, as well as in the field shows a dedication that will benefit her students greatly.
One criticism I hear over and over again from young people in this business is that much of what they learned from instructors in college was far from what they encountered when they entered the work force.
By seeing how the real thing works and imparting it to her students, Molly is giving them a leg up on life. That lesson may well be invaluable these days.