Friday, January 25, 2008 Alumni Profile: Raychel Vendetti By Christopher LaFuria editor in chief csls(os@psu.edu Penn State Behrend graduate Raychel Vendetti is not the cubicle type. As the morning anchor for WSEE, the local CBS affiliate, Vendetti looks for ward to meeting people and reporting their stories. Her work at WSEE allows her to do just that. "You meet new people everyday and you become a part of the community," she said in her WSEE bio. "You see what really affects the people you live with and you can make a dif- Terence." Vendetti is an Erie advocate, having spent her entire life in the area. She graduated from McDowell High School in 1998. During high school, she got her first taste of broadcast journalism. She was involved in the school's public access television station. "We had to take every position. We did the anchoring, reporting, directing and producing," she said. "So, we got a feel for what television is all about. We got a chance to be behind the camera and behind the switchboard." After graduating, she attend ed Edinboro University for a year and a half. Seeking other opportunities, she enrolled at Penn State Behrend, where she majored in Communication and Media Studies. As an aspiring reporter, she hit a roadblock while attending Behrend. With no television station and few journalism courses, she was unable to study to become a reporter. "It was difficult to get that hands-on experience without a television station," she said. Her experience as an intern would provide the necessary experience to enter the field. In the sum mer before her senior season, Vendetti took an internship position at WICU, the local NBC affili ate. During her internship, she followed the reporters. learning how to become a professional news reporter. The connections she made and the experience she received are what she feels helped her land her first job. "It was a good way to put together a resume tape," she said. "It was also a good way to meet people and make contacts, which is very important in this business." Before graduating, she got her first job in televi sion after receiving the position of morning pro ducer for WICU. She worked at the station while attending classes. Eventually, she had to leave her job to focus on graduating. When she left Behrend, she did not immediately get a job working in television. With her Communication degree, she was able to get a job working for Engel O'Neill advertising agency as an office manager. Working there was beneficial, she says, because she was able to make more contacts and "We had to take • every' position. W e did the anchoring, reporting, directing and producing." -Raychel Vendetti WSEE Reporter After working as a weekday/weekend reporter for one year, she was promoted to weekend anchor. In 2005, WSEE developed a new morning new program, which featured Vendetti and meteorolo gist Ray Petelin as hosts. Currently, she and Petelin anchor the morning show and host Newswatch at Noon, the station's noon broadcast. Vendetti married her husband Larry in 2003 and the family resides in Milcreek, nearby where she grew up. While many people use WSEE as a step ping stone for bigger markets, Vendetti is content with staying local. Whether she remains in Erie as an anchor or reporter, she is happy to be reporting the news and broadcasting for the people she has known her entire life. Although Erie is a smaller city with a small market, she enjoys the variety of stories that she can report. She says, "I've always been interested in this business because you can do something different everyday." connections She started at WSEE in Sept 2003, working as a weekday and weekend reporter. She started her job at the station around the time when the city was shocked by the Brian Wells "Pizza Bombing" incident. She says her first and most memorable story of her career involved reporting the ease in making home made bombs. el 1::::), Active seaman organizes against the war By Scott Muska managing editor srmsoB2@psu.edu A 30-year-old active duty Navy Seaman addressed an audience of nearly 50 at the Erie Art Museum Annex on Sunday Jan. 29 about his oppo sition to the war in Iraq and his admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jonathan Hutto, who is currently stationed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Va., was brought to Erie by the Erie Peace Initiative for a stop on his nationwide anti-war protest tour. Most of his lectures take place on the weekends, since naval regulations prevent Hutto from being able to publicly protest the war while he is in uni form. Hutto referred to Dr. King as the catalyst for his motivation to speak out against a war he feels is unjust, and called. King ,"America's man of peace," and, "Our Ghandi." He continued to make mention of King and read excerpts from his speeches throughout his presentation. He said that he wants to follow in the footsteps of King by mirroring his advocacy of non-violent mass mobilization and organization, and urges his audiences to join an anti-war group. Hutto feels that it is important for him to speak out against the war because of his standing as an enlisted member of the armed forces, and that if he continues to protest, more will follow. "I view myself as the spark for the catalyst," he said. People are inspired by the active military voice. It's a voice you rarely hear in our society. Most people don't look at military men as having a polit ical voice." Hutto maintains that most of the men he works with oppose the war and informed his audience that since co-founding the Appeal for Redress initia tive—which allows military members to appeal to their leaders in Washington to end the war, bring the troops home and provide them with the necessary care they require—over 2,000 members of the armed forces have joined. Some of the grievances that the Appeal for Redress outlines that soldiers have against the war are that it was started under fabricated justification, the government has failed to provide troops with adequate combat supplies, the human cost among The hrend Beacon wants YOU! if you love writing and reporting, then working for The Behrend Beacon Writing for your college newspaper is an excellent way to gain valuable " experience working with a team. To our staff e-mail News Editor Letitt s , , y at lrsso46@psusedu Show them r.. you care... , . y B -: .., - ingthe world how much you do! ... , ante t risnimnt In the Beacon on the following p , s .. .., * eve See In honor of Valentine's Day! Feb, let, Bth, & 15 th nformation on ad pricing & services: admanagerethebehrendbeacon.corn Jonathan Hutto speaks to a crowd about Dr. King American soldiers and the economic cost to American taxpayers. Of the 2,000 who have supported the Appeal for Redress, over 60 percent have served at least one tour in Iraq. Hutto, however. has yet to set foot in Iraq, but is expected to he deployed soon, and he bristles open ly over the title of pacifist, which has been attached to him by various members of the media. "I'm not anti-war, I'm not a pacifist," Hutto said. "I'm not opposed to protecting our country and defending our principles." He simply doesn't believe that the War in Iraq is based on these principles and feels that the leaders of America must be held accountable. "No one in my mind has a license to define what patriotism is or what it should look like," he said. It certainly. iri„,w,,y o,iind. is not a blindjoyalty. to the governmeat." is for you! The Behrend Beacon I
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