Shirley Hancock, BS '80
Job Title: Shirley Hancock Communications & C3 Collective
Major: Journalism
Part of the Daily Emerald "Alumni Take Flight" Series
 

Shirley Hancock received a degree in journalism from the UO, with a focus on newspaper and broadcasting reporting. After graduating, she spent over 25 years in the television news business, most of that at the CBS affiliate in Portland, anchoring and reporting. Now, Shirley is a PR consultant, writer and speaking coach.

What did your path look like from UO to where you are now?

For someone who grew up annoyingly curious, always asking questions, college and the SOJC were like a big playground for me to learn. I was lucky to get some life-changing advice, for which I’m still so grateful. First, former ABC affiliate reporter Cathy Kiyomura encouraged me to be fearless and not to worry about competition and instead to compete with myself. She also stressed the most important thing a journalism student must do: get internships, real job experience before you graduate and not wait to do that your senior year. Second, former Register Guard reporter/editor and UO newspaper instructor Mike Thoele, assigned me to interview him and his wife. He pushed me to dig deep and ask really good questions. Third to give me great advice was John Doyle, the quintessential old-school, tough news director at Eugene’s KVAL. Mr. Doyle was my first “news dad.” I attended a seminar where Mr. Doyle was speaking, with the sole motivation to nab an internship. After his talk, I went up to talk with him and he advised me to get my resume (at the time I thought, “What resume?”) and then drive up to KVAL for an interview. It turned into a year-long internship: ripping wire copy, writing small stories and eventually covering stories and actually anchoring the weekend news. Before I graduated I had internship experience, a solid resume and a job. KVAL hired me the day I graduated and then later I got a job at KOIN-TV in Portland where I worked for nearly 20 years.

What advice do you have for undergrads?

Relax. Process all the normal challenges in a healthy way by talking them through calmly with people you trust. Don’t stuff your anxiety down. If it’s your safe and smart circle of friends, your church, your family members or faculty—talk things out with someone. As nerve wracking as college can be, remember, you’re still in a wonderful little bubble where you can make all kinds of mistakes. Get internships, volunteer, join student/professional clubs, join the Student Alumni Association (SAA). Get to know your professors to where they know you by name. Your professors know a lot of professionals who can hire you, so ask for connections. Get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable and rising to a challenge. That’s just life, so why not practice in college?

How can students begin to build a network?

Easy. First, join the SAA. March right over to the UO Alumni Association (UOAA) office, introduce yourself and sign up. This isn’t an organization that’s about going to tailgaters with people my age, it’s about helping you get the skills you need in college to get a job right out of college—if not before. Get involved with the Duck Career Network and do everything they advise. After graduation, as a UOAA Lifetime Member, you’re still in the circle. At our UOAA and UOSOJC board meetings, we often run through speed networking with students. It never fails that a student is looking for a job or a contact and I can tell them, “See that person over there? They run the entire company where you want to work. Go talk to her.”



Written by Cadaxa Chapman Ball, Daily Emerald Reporter