1. Audra Bastyr
Graduation Project Outline
November 4, 2011
Full Outline
I. Introduction
A. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved sports.
a. Cheering on my older brother every Saturday during his football games was the thing I
looked forward to the most.
b. Instead of starring aimlessly at the players, I was focusing on the plays.
c. I knew from that point on I wanted to become a news anchor and eventually go into
sports broadcasting.
B. For this graduation project, I decided to focus on news anchoring.
C. I want to pursue this career in my future after college.
II. Body
A. The two topics that I chose to write about were the Interest Survey and my Job Shadowing
experience.
a. After taking the Interest Survey on Career Cruising, I learned that communications is
a very broad field.
i. It started with Desktop Publisher, cartoonist, and animator which is printing
rather than creating a video medium.
ii. As it got to my fourth choice as an actor I was to be interacting with an
audience.
b. Even though these career options did not directly display “News Anchor”, I
combined the outcomes and they both relate to what I want to pursue.
B. Mr. Andrew Stockey, who is a news anchor at WTAE Pittsburgh, conducted my job shadow.
a. While I was there, he expressed three key components of being a broadcaster.
i. The first was flexibility.
1. Not everything is planned in this business.
2. You have to be able to react to situations quickly and effectively.
ii. The second was adversity.
1. This business is constantly changing with the new technology that is
produced.
2. A news anchor has to adapt to this and show that they can
overcome the change.
iii. The last was the ability to read, write and ad-lib.
1. Mr. Stockey edits his own script during the day and has to complete
it by the evening news.
2. If he is on live television, and breaking news comes in, he cannot
become hesitant. He has to be quick on his feet and deliver.
b. Obtaining these important components is extremely important in order to become a
successful broadcaster.
C. My career goals have been the same throughout my life.
a. I want to eventually become a news broadcaster at a major news station.
b. My focus is to go into sports even though it is male-dominated.
c. I plan to attend a four-year college and graduate college with a communications
degree.
D. Being involved in extra-curricular activities has always been important to me.

2. a. I am currently on the Varsity Cheerleading Squad at my school.
i. A major leadership role we did was Breast Cancer Awareness.
ii. We raised over $1,000 dollars for the foundation.
b. I was on the Varsity Girls’ Golf team my sophomore year in high school.
i. Being on the golf team it taught me to be independent.
1. Golf is a game where its only you and the course.
2. You cannot blame other members in this sport.
ii. I had to rely on myself because my performance depended on however well
I did.
iii. On the golf team, I participated in the Special Olympics for children.
c. I have been a member of the SAD Club and the Interact Club.
i. I participated in Haunted Hallways and the Winter Carnival for SAD.
ii. As a member of Interact Club we did the Princess Project where we donate
dresses for girls our age to wear them that cannot afford a brand new dress.
E. Being in the media department at my school, I have had many opportunities to improve the
qualities that I must obtain for becoming a news anchor.
a. I am currently the co-anchor of Headlines.
b. I have been featured in videos on Channel 7, which is the community television
station in Peters Township.
c. I completed the voice over for a Public Service Announcement about Bullying which
won first place at the TVT’s.
F. The career fair was held at Peters Township High School where I explored the fields of
communications and business.
a. First, I went to communications where I learned this will not be an easy industry.
i. I have to be able to overcome the adversity and deal with rejection.
1. Nothing will be just handed to me.
2. I have to build my way up and keep moving forward.
b. Second, I learned that business would be a tough career for me.
i. You have to rely on employees to accomplish certain tasks.
ii. Also, if you are head of a corporation you have the job of letting people go.
c. Last year, I also was an ambassador for our career fair.
i. I learned how to manage an event by directing people where to go and
making sure it ran smoothly.
ii. Even though I did not attend this career fair, I still had the opportunity to set
up a job shadow with Mr. Andrew Stockey.
1. Networking…
G. During my sophomore year in high school, I completed my career speech in my speech class.
a. I have always wanted to become a broadcaster but after researching this career I
became apprehensive.
i. The workday hours are constantly changing.
ii. Also, you have to be ready at any point to give breaking news to the public.
iii. The one that stuck out the most was the rejection.
1. The station you applied for may say you aren’t what they are
looking for.
2. You can’t sit and let that ruin you. You just have to try again.
b. Although this business is going to be strenuous, I am determined that it won’t bring
me down.
H. I completed my classroom project during my sophomore year in Media II: Broadcasting.

3. a. It was a news package on Family Game Night at Bower Hill Elementary.
b. I shot and edited the video.
c. Finishing this project was a confirmation that I wanted to pursue a career in
communications and become an anchor.
i. I conducted the interview, and interacted with others.
ii. I gained real life experience of what it is actually like out in the field.
iii. Creating a news package is a formulaic experience of editing and telling a
story.
III. Conclusion
A. Finishing this graduation project was a big accomplishment for me.
B. I put a lot of time into it and made sure it was completed by my due date.
C. I learned my strengths and weaknesses during this journey.
D. I want to become successful in life and pursue a career in broadcasting.
E. Until then, I’m Audra Bastyr reporting from the auditorium.