Hannah Horsington (Class of 2023)

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  • Junior majoring in Journalism and International Studies
  • From Hebron, Ohio
  • Co-president of Miami TV News; assistant magazine editor and writer for The Miami Student
  • Spending fall semester 2021 abroad at Miami’s Luxembourg campus
  • Interviewed soccer star Hope Solo and Miss Ohio 2019 Caroline Grace Williams
  • Aspiring The Today Show host
"When you’re at Miami, sit down and talk to your professors and advisors. Everyone is so willing to help. They’re always willing to sit down, listen, and help you figure out your best path."

Why Miami?

"I was undecided between Miami and one other school, so my grandparents took me to tour the Oxford campus on spring break. No one was here, but we walked to Williams Hall, home of the Department of Media, Journalism & Film (MJF), and ran into former chair (now emeritus faculty) Richard Campbell. He showed us around Williams for an hour, loaded me up with student publication samples, and talked about my options with a major in Journalism. It felt like fate!

"My experience at Miami has taught me to be confident in myself, to know what I want, how to get there, and how to just go for it. I’ve also learned it’s super important to see things through other people’s point of view and stop to consider the world around me. There is a whole world of possibilities."

Best Miami Experiences

Hannah Horsington and an MTN teammate pose with professional soccer player Hope Solo in Williams Hall.

"From my experience so far with my journalism professors, I’ve learned how to put myself out there and be confident in myself. You don’t have to try to sound smart, you should just write as yourself. My unique style of speaking, talking, thinking, and writing is okay and doesn’t have to be like everyone else.

"Every journalism professor I've encountered in my college journey so far has been great, and they all bring something different to the table. Professor of journalism James Tobin has always pushed me to try new things and take chances with who I am as a writer. Fred Reeder, assistant clinical lecturer of journalism, made sure I knew all the basics of how to be a good journalist and is always great to go to for advice. Associate professor of journalism Rosemary Pennington is very compassionate and really wants to see her students succeed, not just as journalists, but as people. And senior clinical professor of journalism Joe Sampson really introduced me to the world of broadcast and wants to see his students be the best they can be.

"Through Miami TV News (MTN) I got the opportunity to interview Hope Solo, the former soccer goalkeeper and World Cup champion. I played soccer as a kid and had a Hope Solo jersey, and so interviewing her told me I was involved in an organization that cared about letting everyone get to experience these great things. It was the coolest thing I’d ever done! And the fact that I did this within my first three months as a Miami student was immense for me."

Miami and the Liberal Arts

"I chose my Journalism major because I want to tell stories. My favorite things to write, like for The Miami Student, are features about a person or a town. I like telling stories that get people’s attention and say something about someone to make the reader feel some kind of emotion. Telling stories and making people feel something is why I fell in love with journalism.

"Ever since I decided to pursue journalism, I knew that I wanted to be in broadcast. The Today Show has always been my favorite morning news show, and I love that people all over the country get to feel like they truly know the anchors they see every morning. Plus, The Today Show anchors get to be involved in other things, such as presidential debates, holiday specials, and even the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (which is my dream to host)!

"I ended up choosing International Studies for my second major because I want to do broadcast journalism and focus on international reporting as a foreign correspondent. I’m essentially learning about the world, different elements of how it works, and how to navigate it. From this major I am improving my time management, analysis of texts, and looking into deeper topics."

Interviewing Influential Guests on Miami TV News

Hannah Horsington interviews Miss Ohio 2019 Caroline Grace Williams on the MTN set.

"Miami and MJF give student journalism organizations like The Miami Student and MTN the opportunity to talk to all the guest speakers who come to campus, and some of these are pretty big names. I think it’s really unique and special!

"In doing interviews, you have to learn how to adapt quickly. I always prepare the questions beforehand (since they have to go into the teleprompter), but once the interview starts it may become evident that some questions won’t work, so I have to be ready to come up with new ones on the fly. There was once an instance where a question was asked by an audience member about an incident we had been asked not to address, and I had to work with my co-host to quickly change subjects and get the interview back on track!

"For MTN, I was super excited to be asked to interview Miss Ohio 2019, Caroline Grace Williams, who is also a former Miami admission counselor. The interview went very smoothly, and we ended up having to cut the length because Caroline Grace was very passionate about the subject and gave wonderful, detailed answers. This is always a great problem to have during a long interview -- you get to choose which parts are the best! And it was great that the MTN team didn’t see me as an inexperienced freshman -- they saw someone who put themselves out there and wanted to do it.

"I've also loved the unique, more local people I've gotten to interview. For example, for a class project I wrote a story about two students who were Make-A-Wish kids. Now, they're both involved in Chi Omega, whose philanthropy is the Make-A-Wish Foundation! It was awesome to hear how their journeys have come full circle. I also wrote a story about a local wiener dog (named Gretchen Wieners) and her weightloss journey with her Miami student owner. I have a wiener dog myself, so it was the perfect story to write. And while writing an obituary about local plant farm owner Mary Harrison, I loved getting to speak with her daughter in order to tell sweet and funny stories about Mary's life. "

Advice to Students

Hannah Horsington in a shopping street in Luxembourg City in fall 2021.

"Don’t be afraid to explore new things. It’s okay to try something and realize you don’t like it. For example, I took an intro to fashion class but ended up not sticking with it. There’s no harm in deciding something isn’t for you. Take classes for fun!

"If you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life when you step on campus, that’s okay. Your timeline doesn’t have to be the same as everyone else’s, and it’s okay to want something different than what people have always told you or what the norm seems to be. Just focus on you.

"When you’re at Miami, sit down and talk to your professors and advisors. Everyone is so willing to help. They’re always willing to sit down, listen, and help you figure out your best path."

[September 2021]