This is a printer friendly version of an article from the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. Posted with the permission.
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April 22, 2009

Assumption grad attends D.C. session

For the Daily Tribune

Assumption High School graduate (class of 2006) Emily Smolarek is making the most of her time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As a journalism major, the junior is soon to be in training as an associate producer at Wisconsin Eye, the statewide equivalent of C-Span. She is likely to be a key player in WisEye's plans to launch a half-hour newsmagazine with contributors from colleges from around the state. She oversees news, public affairs and sports at the award-winning campus radio station WSUM, after serving as its news director her sophomore year and as a reporter for the Badger Herald newspaper her freshman year. In her spare time, she hosts two music radio shows.

Smolarek is also majoring in English with a creative writing emphasis. To augment her classroom work, she is reviewing manuscripts (as an intern) for a small publishing company based in New York and is the copy editor for UW's literary magazine Illumination.

As an employee of WSUM, Smolarek recently joined the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association on its annual trip to Washington, D.C. The 20-year-old had personal conversations with Senators Kohl and Feingold and spent considerable time with Congressman David Obey (D-Wausau), discussing the finer points of the North Korean missile threat and issues that would ensure local broadcasters can continue to serve the people of the 7th Congressional District and the rest of the state.

WSUM General Manager Dave Black has been looking for years for the right student to recommend to the WBA for this important annual trip. After a long search, he finally found that special student.

"Emily is just a very impressive person. I have seen many, many students from all over the country come through Madison as well as other cities and states in which I have lived and taught. Emily is right up there with the best of them," Black said. "She attended a national college media convention in Kansas City in the fall and successfully led a workshop that included news directors from Texas to New York and points west. She is smart, well-spoken, endlessly curious about the world around her, genuinely wants to make a difference in the world and has tremendous poise and manners. She has worked hard to get where she is and the sky is literally the limit for her. Her achievements are also a great credit to her parents and to her community and the educational system in Wisconsin Rapids."

WBA President Michelle Vetterkind was equally enthusiastic.

"Emily impressed me when she and another student attended our Winter Conference, which included calls by our members to legislators at the Capitol in Madison. Many of our members took notice of how sharp she is and how quickly she picked up on the issues and challenges facing our industry. She also was very active at the annual student seminar this winter and when Dave suggested her for this big assignment I had no hesitation at all in making the arrangements for her to join our team in the nation's capital. When I see Emily, I see that the future of media is in good hands," Vetterkind said.

Contributed by Mandy Endicott, administrative assistant, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.

Emily Smolarek talks with Sen. Russell Feingold during a Wisconsin Broadcasters Association trip to Washington, D.C. (Contributed photo)