Learning the Power of Perseverance – Julia Allsbrook

As an Honors student, captain of the Meredith College softball team, and a communication major with aspirations of being a sports broadcaster, Julia Allsbrook, ’18, challenged herself in the classroom and on the softball diamond. And she used those challenges to grow as a person.

“It takes a lot of motivation to keep up with my athletic schedule along with fulfilling my academic requirements, and being a leader on the softball field,” said Julia. “Being a student-athlete and an Honors student has definitely taught me discipline and the importance of balance.”

The hard work and commitment has paid off for Julia, who is a three-time member of the USA South All-Academic Team, was also named to the USA South All-Sportsmanship Team as a sophomore, and collected a USA South All-East Division honor. She helped lead her team to a regular season conference championship title as a junior.

As a woman who describes herself as a go-getter and someone with a huge drive to succeed, when it came to locking down internships in her field of study, Julia went after what she wanted. She landed internships working with WRAL as a note keeper and a sports photographer before interning at a sports radio station this past summer.

“I am the type of person who if I see something that I want, I am definitely going to go after it,” said Julia. “My drive is what makes me strong. I am going to go out and find what’s out there and what I can do in order to better myself and make myself more marketable.”

Through those experiences, she learned the power of perseverance. After bring rejected from a news internship with Spectrum News, Julia thought her chances of gaining on-air experience were a long shot. As a senior, one thing she knew about broadcasting was that you must have on-camera experience in order to land a job in the field, and that was lacking from her resume.

While working at the radio station, she saw a sports broadcasting internship position advertised online with Spectrum News. Even though she had just been rejected by them for a news internship and knowing she was underqualified, she decided to go after it anyway.

“When I got the interview, I came up with ways that I could do things differently from the last time,” said Julia. “I was able to reflect on what worked for me and what didn’t work for me. So, when I went back in, I was able to feel more confident and I was able to sell them on my drive to succeed.”

This past fall, Julia received the Jim Connors Memorial Internship, working as a sports broadcaster for Spectrum News. She is only the second person to hold this position, in which she spent 20 to 30 hours a week on the sidelines at football games as a sports broadcaster.

As Julia prepares to finish her last season as a college softball player and looks to the future, she dreams of one day working for ESPN. But until then, she hopes to find a job in sports, even if not necessarily on-air, but somewhere where she can get her foot in the door.

“Sports are my passion. I’m reading every day, watching every day, and I’m very active on social media,” said Julia. “I am constantly gaining all the knowledge of sports that I can, expanding the knowledge that I have, and being dialed into the sports world.”

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