Notre Dame Academy alum Katie Phernetton is now a familiar face on the news station CW14.

“Notre Dame really helped me grow as a person, helping me realize I may fail or succeed and that’s okay,” said Phernetton.

Phernetton believes the core values of Notre Dame are what has shaped her as a person, and “no matter what you do in the professional world, those values will stick with you.”

Phernetton knew that she wanted to go into mass communications and broadcasting when she graduated from Notre Dame Academy in 2009.

She continued her education at Winona, where she was the vice president of her sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma. Phernetton was also involved in the Young Broadcasters Association during her time at Winona.

After two years at Winona, Phernetton decided to move closer to home and attend school at UWGB.

“At the time I needed a change. I needed a little bit of a push to focus on studying, and I wanted to be closer to my family. My sister had a baby and is a single mom so I wanted to be there for her,” said Phernetton.

During her time at UWGB, she was signed up for a local contest to become a CW14 intern, and to her surprise, she won. After her year of internship, CW14 liked Phernetton so much, they decided to keep her on the show.

“My job is very different and unique from a news reporter. For me a lot of my stuff is preplanned. It is a lot more fun, we do a lot of local businesses, and I even got to test the new rides at Bay Beach live on our morning show,” she explained.

Phernetton loves getting to know new people and loves hearing their stories. She also enjoys seeing small local businesses grow and succeed. She believes that is her biggest motivation to be a successful broadcaster.

Being a public figure also comes with some negatives. Phernetton believes her biggest challenge is having to grow thicker skin. “Some people aren’t very nice, but you are never going to please everyone.”

Even though being a broadcaster may not be the highest paying job around, Phernetton said, “You die for your art.” She hopes that she will be able to make it to a bigger market sometime soon so she is able to experience something new.

For all aspiring broadcasters, Phernetton’s one piece of advice: “Get as much experience as possible. Broadcast journalism is so competitive. The more experience you get will set you apart from the rest.”