By Kendra Andrews
Class of 2019
Originally published by Gonzaga News Service
SPOKANE, Wash. – Many Gonzaga students will say that the moment they knew they wanted to attend the University was when they first set foot onto the campus. That’s certainly true for senior Corinne Cahill, who transferred to Gonzaga as a junior after graduating from Spokane Falls Community College.
In particular, Dan Garrity, broadcasting program director and senior lecturer, piqued her interest in Gonzaga.
“When I came to visit the first time and went to Dan’s class, I walked out and called my mom and told her, ‘We need to make this happen,’” Cahill recalls. “This place is where I needed to be, and it’s been awesome.” She applied for and received a scholarship that allowed her to attend.
Broadcasting has been a passion for Cahill since her freshman year at SFCC when she did a project about the culture of a TV news station. That TV station was KHQ in Spokane, where she currently works part time as a technical media producer.
“I did a tour there and the assistant news director said that if I wanted an internship I should contact him,” Cahill said. “I couldn’t do it then because I was only a sophomore, but he later emailed me asking if I wanted to come in for an interview for a new job opening. It kind of rolled from there. It’s a great place to be and a good way to get a foot in the door. I’ve learned a lot.”
Among the lessons Cahill has learned is broadcasting can be crazy at times, so keeping one’s cool is important.
“Stuff goes wrong all the time and you just have to get through it and not worry about it,” said Cahill, who aspires to become a news producer. “You have to keep calm and help everyone else realize that it’s going to be OK and that we can solve the problem. You have to do it calmly or you won’t fix it.”
A tranquil mindset has not only helped Cahill at work, but also in her everyday life.
In addition to being a full-time student and a KHQ employee, Cahill is a proud member of the Gonzaga Bulldog Band. She can be found playing the baritone horn at men’s and women’s basketball home games, and at the West Coast Conference and NCAA basketball tournaments.
Cahill decided to join the band during her student orientation when the band’s president was passing out flyers.
A band member in high school, Cahill thought this would be a good way to make friends in a new environment. But, the thing that really sold her on joining the band was playing at the Zags’ basketball games.
During this long winter break from school, Cahill is enjoying a rare respite from her extraordinarily hectic schedule.
“A lot of people always say, ‘I don’t know what I would do with your schedule. If I were you, I’d go crazy.’ I don’t know if I’m already crazy but writing everything down and prioritizing helps a lot.”
While Cahill may be his busiest student, Garrity said her joy shines through in all her many activities.
“She’s loving every minute of her time here,” Garrity said. “I’m proud to hold her up as an exemplar of what our program seeks to instill in students – acceptance of a never-ending quest toward magis (Latin for the ‘more’) in the field of digital storytelling. Corinne will make us all proud that she decided to make Gonzaga her home.”