Career Path of a Journalist at NBC 10 KGTV
Ava's journalism career began at Questa College, where she became editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, then blossomed at Cal Poly, where she immersed herself in broadcast opportunities at KCPR and Mustang TV, overcoming COVID-related internship challenges to land a role at KSBY, which led to positions at KERO and finally Ava's current role as reporter and producer at ABC 10News KGTV in San Diego, where Ava says they are "in front of the camera most days, but...behind the scenes at least once a week".
Broadcast Journalism, Internship Experience, Career Progression, Television News, On-Air Reporting
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ava Kershner
Journalist
ABC 10News KGTV
Cal Poly, Cuesta College, Hancock College, Cal State Northridge
N/A
Creative Writing, Journalism
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Communication and Marketing
Honors Student, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Ava's career began at community college, where she became editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. This demonstrates early leadership and journalistic experience.
2. She actively pursued broadcast journalism opportunities at Cal Poly, participating in various media outlets like KCPR and Mustang TV, highlighting her proactive approach to gaining experience.
3. Ava secured an internship at KSBY, a local NBC affiliate, and subsequently transitioned to a reporting role at KERO in Bakersfield before moving to her current position at ABC 10News KGTV in San Diego. This showcases her career progression and networking success within the industry
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
I actually got into journalism in community college at Questa College. I became the editor-in-chief of the newspaper there, the Ian.
From there, I transferred to Cal Poly. They didn't really have many broadcast opportunities at my community college. So as soon as that world of broadcast was available to me at Cal Poly, I dived right in.
I got involved with KCPR and Mustang TV, as well as the video team Mustang Game Day. Any chance I could be in any form of broadcast, I wanted to be there. But we were still coming out of COVID, so finding internships was very difficult.
Finally, KSBY, the local NBC affiliate, brought back their internship. I was one of the first interns in their new program. That was really awesome.
I got to spend a quarter shadowing producers, directors, MMJs, and weather anchors – every aspect of the broadcast realm. Before I graduated, I was on the job hunt. I ended up going to KSBY's sister station in Bakersfield, KERO.
That was kind of an easy transfer over. In Bakersfield, I was there for about a year and a half as their morning reporter, weekend morning anchor, and weekend morning weather forecaster.
Around the year-and-a-half mark, I transferred to the sister station in San Diego. That's where I'm at right now at NBC 10 KGTV in San Diego, where I am a reporter and a producer. I'm in front of the camera most days, but I'm also behind the scenes at least once a week.
Advizer Personal Links
Instagram @avakershner, facebook @Ava Kershner TV, Tiktok @avaontheair, Linked In @avakershner