Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight: Michelle (Myers '03) Jahnke
Major: Broadcasting
Occupation: Television Producer
Michelle (Myers '03) Jahnke won an Emmy award in 2009 for her work as a television producer on the PBS news-magazine LifeFocus.
When Michelle (Myers ’03) Jahnke auditioned for a part on an Evangel television show her freshman year, she had no idea where it would lead. A psychology major at the time, she didn’t even have broadcasting in mind for a career. She just thought it might be fun.
It was fun. But it was also life-changing.
At that audition she met her future husband, Mark Jahnke (’01). And by the time the TV show was over, she had changed her major to broadcasting. It turned out to be the perfect fit for her. Today, Michelle Jahnke is an Emmy-award-winning television producer in Chicago. Her husband, Mark, is the director of engineering for WYCC, Channel 20 in Chicago.
Michelle received her Emmy on November 7, 2009 from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The award recognized her work as a producer for the news-magazine Life-Focus, which airs nationwide on PBS. The episode for which she received the Emmy was titled, “A New Kind of Normal.” See a video teaser.
Michelle says that winning the Emmy was as much a humbling experience as it was an honor. “It was reassurance that I am using the talents that God blessed me with,” she says.
Michelle initially chose to attend Evangel because a friend from her home church had decided to enroll, but she found much more than social connections at Evangel. “It was the best four years of my life,” she says. “It is because of the education and the foundation I received at Evangel that I am able to say I am an Emmy-award-winning television producer today.”
Working in a tough market like Chicago, she is grateful for the quality career preparation she received at Evangel. “It definitely prepared me for the work I am doing now,” she says. “A lot of people shy away from private schools or smaller universities because they don’t believe they will get as great of an education. Let me tell you, that is not true. Evangel provides wonderful classroom training, necessary hands-on experience, a vast array of extracurricular activities within your field, great classroom sizes and remarkable faculty to teach and mentor students.”
Mark and Michelle have been married for six years. They both love working in the broadcasting industry and enjoy traveling together. Like most Evangel alumni, they have rich relationships with fellow Evangel alumni and faculty that continue to this day. “The faculty, staff and fellow students at EU are people you will never forget,” Michelle says.
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