She enjoyed success in high school on the athletic field and on the stage. Valedictorian of the Caledonia-Mumford Class of 2002, Meghan Backus attended St. Bonaventure University to study journalism. Now a television reporter for WROC News 8 and a recognized face in public, Backus returned to her alma mater to speak to students about her job and other careers in journalism. She was the guest speaker for the December career luncheon held for Cal-Mum High School students. Career luncheons are made possible by a grant from Mobil/Wilson Farms.

   Backus said she identified her interest in writing while still in high school. Initially, she thought she might become an English teacher, but her experiences at Bonaventure steered her toward journalism. She worked at the college television and radio stations and wrote for the college newspaper. In her senior year, Backus tried her hand at shooting and editing video and even traveled to Louisiana to produce a video of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. During her summer college breaks, Backus wrote sports stories for the Livingston County News.

   Chris Metcalf, LCN sports editor recalls Meghan’s work as a young newspaper reporter. "Meghan's desire in the field of journalism was obvious from the first day she stepped into our office. She took a lot of pride in what she covered, and I knew she had a great future in this business. I expect her to go far," Metcalf remarked.

   After college, Backus landed a job in Springfield, Massachusetts as a producer/reporter with television station WSHM, a CBS affiliate. She quickly found out the differences of being on the other side of the video camera and the faced paced world of broadcast versus print journalism. After a year of experience, Backus is happy to be back in Rochester where she is a News 8 Now at Sunrise reporter.

   "People may think that being a television news reporter is glamorous but it’s not at all. It’s long hours and a lot of hard work," Backus answered.

   Backus says there really is no typical workday in the television news business. As a morning reporter, her day typically begins at 3 a.m. She arrives at the station early where she’ll be updated on what stories the producer wants her to cover. Sometimes, overnight or breaking news will have her on scene before the sun even rises over Rochester. It’s fast paced, Backus says, sometimes she has less than ten minutes to prepare the details of the story before going live on camera.

   "Sometimes I just wish I had the luxury of time and space to write about the story, but with live television, I don’t. I have to quickly write down what I’m going to say on camera. Some experienced reporters don’t have to, but I do," Backus told the students.

   As a reporter, Backus says she likes meeting new people and getting to know them through the stories they tell her. Back at the studio, she says, the people that she works with are equally as interesting and it’s working as a team with them that she likes most about her job at News 8.

   School to Work Coordinator, business teacher and organizer of the career luncheons, Dan Freeman, said the students are very responsive to the career luncheons, and are especially interested in hearing from former students who return to speak about their college and career experiences.

   "Meghan has a great sense of humor that the students really enjoyed. She is very engaging to listen to. The faculty enjoy seeing their former students come back matured and in successful careers and the students seem to relate better with someone that they remember as a former high student, someone just one stage ahead of where they are in life," Freeman explained.

   Backus spent much of the class period answering the students’ questions about her job as a television reporter but she also answered questions about preparing for and selecting a good journalism college. Good writing skills are essential, she told the students. Good public speaking skills are also necessary if you are interested in broadcast journalism.

   "Don’t be afraid to participate in internships, there are number of them out there that are available to high school students," she explained.