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Alumni Spotlight

We feature an alum from the Department of Communication and Visual Arts as a way to help our students identify with various career paths this degree can take them. If you know an alum who should be featured, please email us!

Brendan Johnson

 Brendan Johnson

I’m a meteorologist for WTMJ-TV (TMJ4) in Milwaukee, WI

My major was in meteorology. I graduated in 2017.

I was heavily involved with VUTV – serving as its Executive Director in the 2016-2017 school year.
I also worked with WVUR, VUSIT, and Chi Epsilon Pi.

Valpo’s Weathercasting class was my favorite course at Valpo. It was a great opportunity for all of the junior/senior meteorologists to get feedback on our weather broadcasts. Plus – our instructor, Ellen Bacca, brought in a TV News Director to practice our interview skills with.

My favorite memory is the community in the Communications and Meteorology Department. I loved being a part of it. Student media have their “Schnabelgations” and MET students were always working on their problem sets. We could do our work in either building – knowing that we had the support of the faculty just down the hall. The faculty in Schnabel/KCH were so welcoming and made time to chat about coursework or whatever was on our minds!

Valpo Day 2016 was a huge milestone during my time at VU. The Student Media put on a nonstop 12-hour telethon showcasing every part of the university. It was A LOT of work – bringing together every organization on campus and working closely with the administration.
It taught me a lot about TV and the teamwork it takes to get something on the air.

That teamwork is a HUGE reason I do the work I do today. I love working side-by-side with people who are passionate about TV – to bring news and information to our viewers.
I’m so grateful we got that chance to work on that project for a school we all love so much.

Valpo is great with experiential learning – take advantage of it!

The Student Media Organizations are your first chance to develop skills you’ll use with internships and in your job
Get involved early and try everything – both behind the scenes and in front of the camera/microphone.
When you take the time to diversify your skillset, you come across as a standout candidate in that first job interview!