As students walk across the stage during their high school graduation they each have their own plans for how they want to spend the next few years of their lives. The activities students participate in during high school, while influential, don’t necessarily define them for the rest of their lives. The Thunderbeat followed up with ten 2022 alumni who were pivotal to the journalism program during their high school career. Here’s what they are doing now.
During her time at Bellevue West, Meg Gross was the Editor-in-Chief of the Thunderbeat newspaper and the Director of the Video and Broadcast production staff. She is currently attending the University of Nebraska- Lincoln and is double majoring in both advertising and public relations and sports media communications. “It was a pretty easy decision,” Gross said. “I always loved being creative, and media and writing stories and taking pictures and all that stuff. I also have always really loved sports and grew up in a household with three older brothers who are obsessed with sports. So it just seemed like a pretty perfect combo to be able to combine sports and sports media and do both of them.” According to Gross, she is a Husker Media Intern at UNL where she has the opportunity to be in charge of running the men's gymnastics team’s social media accounts. “It’s definitely, like, the coolest thing I have ever done,” Gross said. “By far, it's definitely the thing that I'm most proud of and it's the first thing I tell people about when they ask me to tell them about myself.” Gross said she has gained more confidence in this role and has built strong relationships with different athletic departments. She also has gotten the chance to participate in “once in a lifetime events” like Volleyball Day in Nebraska on Aug. 30, 2023 in Memorial Stadium. Gross is also involved in Gamma Phi Beta, a sorority on campus, where she was recently elected into a social media officer position. “A lot of older girls in the chapter really encouraged me to get involved, because they knew I was good at taking pictures,” Gross said. “And they knew I was passionate about it. They wanted to see somebody in that role that knew what they were doing, but also that cared so much.” At Bellevue West, Gross dedicated time to building a portfolio. One of her ideas was to make a sports hype video. “It was a little ambitious but I kind of put everything together to make it happen,” Gross said. “I learned that from working in Bellevue West is when you want to see change, or when you want to see something happen, you've got to put in the work to make it happen.”’ According to Gross her internship has given her the chance to show what she is capable of and taught her to put herself out there to receive opportunities. “To come into college as a freshman and have this awesome internship and to have so many opportunities just in my first year… not a lot of people get that,” Gross said. “So having that so early on is really special. I don't think I would have gotten that if I didn't come to Nebraska.” Emily Mabbitt was one of the Co-Editors-in-Chief for the Thunderbeat newspaper during her senior year at Bellevue West. Now, at the University of Kansas, she is majoring in accounting and is working towards a minor in business analytics. “It all kind of just fell into place,” Mabbitt said. “Especially towards the end of high school when I was trying to figure out what I liked and didn't like. I took Mrs. Hinkle’s accounting classes, and I liked them. So that's how I kind of decided that that's what I wanted to do.” According to Mabbitt, her interest in the University of Kansas sparked from her childhood. “My mom attended KU so I've been a Kansas fan ever since I was little,” Mabbitt said. “I didn't really have much interest in going to college in state. So I've always had my eye on Kansas.” Mabbitt is involved in the Women’s Business Club where she has many opportunities to network and receive mentorship. According to Mabbitt, she got involved with it through her major and it’s helping all its members with professional growth. “It's kind of helped me find a lot of mentors,” Mabbitt said. “I've become closer with some of the accounting professors that are around. Having those connections will help me a lot down the line when I need it.” Through journalism at Bellevue West, Mabbitt feels she gained more communication skills. “I got more comfortable with being able to reach out to people,” Mabbitt said. “That's helped a lot because obviously college is not easy and being able to reach out and have good communication skills with my mentors and peers, and those around me really helps.” As a senior at Bellevue West, Sophia Goessling was the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the yearbook. She currently attends UNL and is majoring in Environmental and Sustainability studies with a minor in Studio Art. “There are a lot of different directions you can go with environmental studies,” Goessling said. “And then art I feel is a great way to bring collaboration and teamwork and just fun into whatever work you do.” Goessling worked at a ceramics studio as a studio assistant and at the Zodiac Art Gallery in downtown Omaha as a front desk clerk. As part of an academic art honors program, Goessling said she furthers her art skills while advocating for change. “We did a lot of social justice, and just brought those two areas together, which was a really neat process to see,” Goessling said. “You get to kind of interact with all these new people and new situations and really visualize how creativity can help a community.” According to Goessling, participating in Bellevue West journalism gave her the skills to work on a deadline and successfully interview others. “I think that was really helpful for just being able to get your stuff done in a timely manner,” Goessling said. “Interviewing specifically is a great skill to have because you can have class projects where you have to interview people and it's good to know the right questions to ask.” Goessling said that her community service endeavors during college have transformed the way she interacts with people, and has given her important experiences for her career. “It kind of opened my eyes to what life is like for other people,” Goessling said. “It made me a more caring person and more understanding of other people's situations in life because you don't always know what someone's going through.” During her senior year of high school at Bellevue West, Gnally Boukar was the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Thunderbeat newspaper. Now she attends Marquette University and is majoring in both political science and gender studies. Boukar decided on a political studies major after her work with the Revolutionary Action Party during high school. She said the gender studies major came later in college after taking an introductory gender studies course. “I really liked learning about different systems of oppression and how that can impact different people and just how to be more aware of other people's experiences,” Boukar said. “It aligned really well with something I already wanted to do.” Though currently recovering from an injury and not attending school, Boukar spent the the start of her sophomore year as president of the Black Student Council and was involved with the Urban Scholars Social Welfare and Justice Committee. Through this committee, Boukar worked with about 8 other students on a project to allocate for more scholarship advisors to the university’s Urban Scholars program. The project was successful and Boukar was involved with the interview committee selecting the new advisors. “I got to work directly with administrators to figure out who is the best option for students,” Boukar said. “I just feel like self advocacy is something that's really important to me. So that was an opportunity for me to advocate on behalf of not only myself, but also a lot of students who are in my scholarship program.” According to Boukar the SWJC planned various events for students to foster a community and dedicate themselves to social activism on campus. “Last year with that committee, we held a discussion to talk about the school to prison pipeline and we had like 60 students of color attend,” Boukar said. “We had a couple of different guest speakers that were able to speak about their experiences. I feel like those were very valuable to me because we got to hear different students talk about their own experiences.” Boukar said her experience with Bellevue West journalism gave her the desire to be curious. “When I was trying to figure out if I wanted to go to school out of state at first I didn't think that I had a lot of opportunities being someone who comes from a low income background,” Boukar said. “Then I explored every single avenue and I would say that that thirst for more information definitely came from high school journalism.” Grace Pechacek was the Editor-In-Chief of the yearbook and a videographer on the video broadcast production staff during her senior year of high school at Bellevue West. She continues to be involved in journalism during college at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln where she is a double major in both advertising and public relations and broadcasting. Through her college she began writing for an experience lab program called the Heartland Pulse where she writes stories about small businesses in Nebraska. “I love meeting everyone, like all the new people around me, it's super fun,” Pechacek said. “Everyone's so sweet here in the Midwest.” Pechacek works as a social media intern at Southwestern Advantage, an internship program for students around the U.S. “I was their intern last semester and I would make social media posts and go to their events and just promote it and get their name out there a little bit,” Pechacek said. According to Pechacek, her plans after college as of now consist of her working with social media at an advertising firm or broadcasting at a news station. “I take those things I learned from the journalism department in high school and I apply that to what I do today,” Pechacek said. “Especially when I'm out on the field interviewing people and even just talking to people. I feel a little bit ahead of other people just because of all the things I did in the Journalism Department at Bellevue West. I feel like they definitely prepared me for the field that I'm in.” When he was a senior at Bellevue West, Owen Reimer served as the entertainment editor for the Thunderbeat newspaper production staff. He is currently attending college at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, majoring in secondary education with an English focus. Although, he began in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, also known as CoJMC. During his time in CoJMC at UNL, he became involved with the Daily Nebraskan, the university’s newspaper where he was the assistant news editor. UNL’s CoJMC requires an “experience lab” for those a part of their college. Reimer participates in the Nebraska News Service, an experience lab that allows students to have their work published in local newspapers, where he is a lead. “What I do with my co-lead is we get together and basically lesson plan every week and we come up with activities,” Reimer said. “As opposed to the Daily Nebraskan, the news service reporters are doing it for the first time so the skill level is across the board.” According to Reimer, his dream was to become a reporter since he was in the seventh grade, leading to his initial major in journalism. His time in college led him to switching his major to secondary education with hopes to become a journalism advisor. “I switched because I'm very passionate about the power of education and what it can do for young people,” Reimer said. “I love journalism and I realized that my abilities and what I'm passionate about more aligned with education.” During her time on the Bellevue West newspaper staff, Carlee Rigatuso served as a reporter and the business manager. She now attends the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and is majoring in criminology and criminal justice on a pre-law and pre-public health track with a minor in ethnic studies. Rigatuso plans to connect all of her studies to better her community. “I'm doing my research project over the section of homelessness, and connecting criminal history and health,” Rigatuso said. “But basically, just how homelessness impacts life circumstances. A lot of people who end up in the criminal justice system come from lower income backgrounds, or like minority backgrounds. Both are heavily associated with worse outcomes.” Rigatuso is also the president of the University of Nebraska Inter-Tribal Exchange (UNITE). Rigatuso describes UNITE as a “cultural enrichment program” for indigenous students to have a support system. “It was really nice to come to you and all and be able to find a community that I like, never have had previously outside of my family,” Rigatuso said. “To actually have friends that share a culture similar to mine was just really nice. So I think also in that way, I can provide a support system for students.” According to Rigatuso, she will occasionally write for the Daily Nebraskan as an opinion writer. Though, she took a break this year to focus on UNITE. As a member of UNITE, Rigatuso is involved in the Turtle Island Club, a club focused towards teaching native elementary students about their culture. Through UNITE Rigatuso participates in college coaching at Lincoln middle schools. “A lot of native students have really bad issues with truancy in general,” Rigatuso said. “It’s also just a way to encourage natives to go to higher level education because a lot of them don't.” Rigatuso recently began participating in the Nebraska Writers Collective. According to Rigatuso, the program specializes in “fostering empowerment and building community through creative writing and performance poetry.” She has been working in correctional facilities to teach writing classes through the program. “They offer classes, like writing and poetry classes for the youth correctional facility and it's actually credit for school,” Rigatuso said. “It just helps kids who are in the youth correctional facility who need it and want to stay on track in high school.” According to Rigatuso, being involved in journalism during high school taught her how to express her opinion and speak up. “I feel like that's another thing they really taught me was how to use my voice,” Rigatuso said. “And how journalism can be a really good outlet for your passions and the issues you want to speak on.” While attending Bellevue West High School, Addy Gardner was the social media manager for the Video and Broadcast Production staff. She is currently getting a degree in criminal justice at University of Nebraska-Omaha as a part-time student. According to Gardner, her interest in true crime in her childhood sparked her decision to pursue criminal justice as a degree. She said she also considered pursuing a career in forensic photography after her experience in journalism at Bellevue West. Gardner also works at First National Bank of Omaha three days a week to balance out her school life. According to Gardner, her time in the journalism program at Bellevue West helped her to build relationships with others she may not have known otherwise. “I built a connection,” Gardner said. “I think that's what I definitely learned here at Bellevue West is that it wasn't that I was shy before, but I wouldn't have stepped out of my shell if it wasn't for journalism making me do these interviews and asking people questions.” Nolan Flanigan was a videographer on the Video Broadcast Production staff during his senior year at Bellevue West. He is now majoring in digital film production and theory at Wayne State College. Flanigan made a film entitled “Invisible” that was accepted into the Bison Bison Collegiate Film Festival and tied for first place at the White Lights City Film Festival. “It was about this awkward freshman kid, kind of based on myself, but more based on my roommate,” Flanigan said. “It was about him kind of trying to find his friends in the college world and moving out of home and trying to get acclimated to college life.” Currently, Flanigan is working on a Twilight Zone inspired film called “A Daze Trip to Norfolk.” According to Flanigan, he is also working on earning his private pilot’s license. “I've always been big into flight simulators and playing video games and stuff like that,” Flanigan said. “So that's kind of how it started. Honestly, it kind of felt like a video game when I was up there.” Flanigan said he felt being a part of Bellevue West Journalism and working on the video staff taught him about collaboration and getting a new perspective. Flanigan plans to continue his education in film after receiving his undergraduate degree. “I always loved movies growing up as a kid,” Flanigan said. “So I thought I might try to go into that field a little bit and that's how I first got into filmmaking and video work with Mr. Stueve there at Bellevue West, and that kind of got it all started.” Alyssa Fjelstad joined the newspaper staff her senior year at Bellevue West as the broadcasting manager. She is now pursuing further education at University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study accounting. According to Fjelstad, her interest in accounting sparked in high school during business teacher Pat Hinkle’s classes and her work through FBLA. “I thought accounting is very fundamental with business,” Fjelstad said. “I could kind of use that to go a different path if I wanted to. But for right now, I want to get my certified public accounting certificate and be a CPA.” Fjelstad is involved in the Business Honors Academy which she sees as an excellent networking opportunity and gives her a chance to tour various businesses within the area. During her freshman year of college Fjelstad went through the sorority recruitment with her sister. Both rushed the Delta Delta Delta sorority where Fjelstad is now the Director of Financial Operations. “They've taught me all these skills about finance and communicating,” Fjelstad said. “It's taught me a lot about working with deadlines and bills, and budgeting and all that. I never imagined myself being in a sorority but it's been really great for me and I'm really glad it did it.” However, she hasn’t fully departed from her broadcasting roots in high school. Fjelsted is a content production intern at Hudl, a sports data analytics and video company, where she works mostly with soccer. According to Fjelstad, her job entails finding highlights and going through social media to find content to put in their videos. “It's definitely something different than what my major is,” Fjelstad said. “All the people in my department are in the journalism school. So it's kind of like I’m the odd one out. I have to show that I can do this even though I'm not majoring in journalism. I still have experience and I have a lot of knowledge about soccer too because I played for a really long time.” The experience Fjelstad had in Bellevue West journalism taught her more about sports broadcasting, including getting the opportunity to commentate during the Metro Holiday Basketball Tournament. “It taught me a lot about a passion that I've always had,” Fjelstad said. “It allowed me to express more of my creative side, since I was really into math. It allowed me to be really creative.”
