Shelby Reynolds knew exactly where she was headed as she walked across the commencement stage to receive her diploma.

As the Overall Outstanding Senior from Wichita State University's Elliott School of Communication, Reynolds accepted a coveted position as a multimedia features reporter for the Naples Daily News in Naples, Florida, which she began immediately following graduation.

In the competitive market of communications, Reynolds’ experience with multimedia design set her out from the many other candidates for the position.

“At the Elliott School it’s second nature,” says Reynolds, referencing the variety of core classes ESC students are required to take. “It’s the relationships that you build here on campus that are going to connect you elsewhere and get you places.”

As the editor-in-chief of WSU’s student-run newspaper, The Sunflower, Reynolds has taken every opportunity to enhance her journalism skills in addition to her classes in the Elliott School.

“Shelby time and again demonstrated excellent leadership skills in working with student colleagues, university administrators, and a variety of other campus and community constituencies,” said Dan Close, a professor in the Elliott School. “She was a tremendous student to work with, a compassionate friend and one dedicated to working in modern media while maintaining the highest ideals of traditional journalism.”

Since enrolling in a journalism class as a freshman in high school, Reynolds has displayed a passion for the field. She had the opportunity to interview politicians and a variety of other people throughout high school, and learned the basics of creating a compelling story.

“No other job can you talk to random people and find out about their life,” said Reynolds. “That’s what I liked about it in high school, and that’s still true today.”

She continued pursuing journalism when she came to college, starting as a reporter for The Sunflower her freshman year.

“I had lots of fun and wrote some stories that I’m still pretty proud of now,” said Reynolds.

"Everyone thought I was crazy for doing it. It was a lot of fun, and that's still one of my biggest highlights."
– Shelby Reynolds 

After a year at college, Reynolds enrolled in The Flint Hills Media Project, a summer class she says changed her life. The class involves communication students in every field who put together a magazine covering the symphony in the Flint Hills.

Reynolds took the class as a freshman, the youngest among upperclassmen and graduate students. That year the symphony was near the Army base, Fort Riley, so much of the magazine’s focus was on the military life there.

“When I learned we would get the opportunity for a long interview with the second-highest ranking officer stationed at Fort Riley, I didn’t hesitate to ask Shelby,” said Amy DeVault, a professor in the Elliott School and Reynolds’ faculty advisor.

The Flint Hills project demonstrated her nature for going above and beyond in her work. Though she had enough information from her interviews with military personnel, she wanted to truly understand what a day in the life of these soldiers was like. To gain that insight, Reynolds drove from Wichita to Fort Riley at 4 a.m. to participate in the soldiers’ physical training session.

“Everyone thought I was crazy for doing it,” she said. “It was a lot of fun, and that’s still one of my biggest highlights.”

After taking on the roles of copy editor and eventually managing editor at The Sunflower, Reynolds was named the 2014 Journalist of the Year at the Kansas Collegiate Media conference. She also took advantage of an internship at the Wichita Eagle during her collegiate years.

What started as a short winter internship turned into two full-time summer internships. The environment gave Reynolds a taste of what a daily newspaper is like, working on three to four stories each day.

“Shelby has a sweet, outgoing personality that charms co-workers and teachers,” Close said. “But if there's a great breaking news story out there, and someone's to blame, make no mistake -- she's going to find them and hold their feet to the fire. As a journalist myself, that’s especially impressive to see in a young person.”

Reynolds is excited about this opportunity, and looks forward to continued work in journalism.

“There are jobs out there in communication, believe it or not,” said Reynolds. “Everyone thinks it’s a dying field, but I think there will always be a need for people who can write and tell stories.”