Elizabeth Washington with WXYZ-TV, tells her success story

Over the last couple of years at Wayne State Elizabeth Washington was one of our shining stars. She graduated after an internship at WDIV and worked at WSLS 10 in Roanoke, Virginia. Thankfully for us she is coming back to the area to work for WXYZ-TV as a Digital Producer. She gives us a perspective on her career at WSU and how her life has gone moving forward. 

"Just like many Wayne State students, I had to roll up my sleeves during my college career to make sure I had enough experience to get a job in the “real world”. Taking classes full time, working two internships, and working two jobs… my resume was ready. Getting an internship at WDIV was on my dream board and five-year plan. I made sure that I worked as hard as I could and network as much as I could to get an internship. After landing one with their creative services department, I realized the love I have for Graham Media Group.

You hear so many horror stories about other broadcasting companies, so being an intern and just getting a glimpse of what GMG has to offer, made me realized I wanted to stay with the company. I applied internally to WDIV’s sister station WSLS. I only applied because it was a lifestyle producer position and after taking Metro Arts, I realized I love that style of news. So, I applied and after four interviews I got the job. I had less than three weeks to move to Roanoke, Virginia - a city I have never heard of. Moving to a city you’ve never heard of or where you don’t know anybody is hard. I also had to really prove that I belonged at the station since I just graduated college. 

I will be honest; the past 10 months have been hard. I had to learn about a whole new community to know what they wanted to hear and what’s important to them. I have joined multiple organizations outside of my job to help me transition into a new city. Beside learning how to adapt to a new area, being a producer of a lifestyle show has its obstacles. You not only work with the news department but also sales and creative services. In college you learn how to become a MMJ, so taking those skills and adapting them have been rewarding.

After learning a lot in Virginia for ten months, I am happy to be back in Detroit. Even for a short period of time, leaving my hometown has made me realize what a special place Detroit is. I am happy to be working at a station that is so welcoming and has so many Wayne State Warrior alumni. 

I have only been a digital producer for a few months, but already this job is teaching me so much about metro Detroit. 

My experience moving away to Virginia was life-changing, to say the least. I may not have had the most enjoyable experience at my first market, but I learned so much about myself, my priorities and what my new career goals are for myself. 

I am very proud of myself and how far I have come in a short period of time. I have met so many great people who love Detroit and this industry that it's comforting being amongst hard-working people and learning from them."