NBCU Academy

2 weeks ago | nbcuacademy.com | Benjamin Pu

Field producers wear many hats in journalism. They pitch, write, edit, organize logistics and work out issues in real time on a news shoot. In other words, they make sure the news gets made.  “A field producer is really responsible for the entire shoot, from start to finish, from setting up through the end result,” NBC News field producer Shanshan Dong said. “You do the planning. You work out the execution.

2 weeks ago | nbcuacademy.com | Iris Kim

Kyrie Frith, 17, grew up watching digital forensics experts on her favorite shows “Law & Order” and “Bones.” “I was always fascinated by how cybersecurity could help with finding the criminal,” she said. Last year, she was placed in an introductory cybersecurity class at Lincoln High School in Lincoln, Alabama. She learned how to take on encryption challenges and joined an all-girls cybersecurity team at a statewide competition in Huntsville.

3 weeks ago | nbcuacademy.com | Maya Brown

When Tanaya Pinkston was 5 years old, she witnessed her mother have a stroke. It was one of the scariest moments of her life, but the compassion and care she received from the 911 operator left a lasting impression. “As soon as they heard that it was a child’s voice on the phone, they were like, this is probably a serious situation, and they had to take a different approach to it,” Pinkston said.

3 weeks ago | nbcuacademy.com | Iris Kim

Before her ancestry test, all Jessica Ewing knew about her father’s lineage was that she came from a family of Mexican migrant workers who moved wherever there was crop-picking work. “It’s hard to pinpoint where your family members come from if you’re poor, moving around a lot and lack education,” Ewing said. “It makes record-keeping impossible.” She had wanted to do DNA testing for years, but kits like 23andMe, with their $100 price tag, were out of her already-stretched budget.

4 weeks ago | nbcuacademy.com | Mallory Carra

When reporter Shelby Bremer moved from Chicago to San Diego to cover housing last year, she faced a challenge: How would she localize national stories in a brand-new city? “It’s been really essential for me to lean on people with more experience in the newsroom and say, ‘OK, what’s the context here? Tell me the players, tell me the dynamics,’” said the NBC 7 San Diego reporter.