After planting herself in Texas, South Dakota and Maryland, former Klein College of Media and Communication graduate Marjorie Thomas has set up shop back home in Philadelphia.
Thomas graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media in 2012, making it six years until she took a position back where her career began.
Her first job out of college was in Odessa, TX with KWES-TV.
“When I was applying for jobs, I knew I was going to start out as a production assistant, because you have to start from the bottom and work your way up,” she said. “I just applied for jobs all over the U.S. because I was not afraid to travel and get my foot in the door. That was the one I saw as the best fit, because it had everything I wanted to start out as.”
After working as a production assistant for under a year, she was promoted to morning show producer, a role she would hold at multiple stations. It was a quick climb for someone so new to the industry.
She went after the morning show producer role in Rapid City, SD with KOTA-TV and Rushmore Media Radio, a position she got and held until 2016. She helped KOTA-TV start its morning show.
“When I moved there, they hadn’t had a morning show in so many years. I thought it would be a great experience to be like, ‘Hey, I’m a morning show producer, and I can help you jumpstart your new show.'”
During her time in South Dakota, KOTA-TV’s morning show was always first in the region.
“I am very proud about that. We basically started it together. We were always number one.”
Four years after graduating, the largest step of Thomas’ career took place when she was hired as the morning show producer for FOX45 in Baltimore, MD. It was her first professional experience in a large city.
“After two years in South Dakota, I had done all I had wanted to do there,” she said. “I wanted to move to a bigger market.”
Being with FOX45 taught her to think on her feet.
“You have to think at any second, big breaking news could happen,” she said. “You have to be able to kill your whole rundown and just go with that news story and how to switch topics really quickly.”
In the summer, Thomas found a job listing for a game show producer with FOX29 in Philadelphia. The show, The ClassH-Room, pits local school students from 7th to 12th grade against their teachers. It airs weekdays at noon. Thomas was giddy when talking about moving back to Philadelphia.
“I did grow up watching FOX29! I watched it every morning before school,” she said. “I’ve just been non-stop smiling since I moved back here.”
Thomas said moving from morning show to game show production has been an adjustment.
“I kind of had to relearn things and take my news brain out and put in a whole different kind of brain because a game show is just so different.”
It’s hard for her to say if she likes this environment more than news.
“I like not having to be attached to my phone 24 hours a day, but I like to just be able to enjoy myself. It’s fun, it’s a game show, you get to work with kids.”
Thomas comes from a long line of Temple graduates.
Her dad, Jeff, graduated from the Fox School of Business with an accounting degree in 1979 and has held partnership and management positions in international accounting firms and corporations since then.
Her mom, Sue, also graduated in 1979 in the School of Social Work. She has worked as a senior social worker ever since.
Her brother, grandfather and grandmother also graduated from Temple in 2011, 1946, and 1946, respectively.
“Continuing my family legacy at Temple is pretty awesome,” she said. “I love being able to carry on the family tradition and showing how great a school Temple is and what it means to be an Owl. Being part of the family legacy is something I will always carry with me.”
Looking back to her Temple life, she attributes learning how to work in a media environment to her Klein College professors.
“They taught me the ins and outs of what to expect when you work in the TV environment,” Thomas said. “They taught me how to work together, how to work on the different cameras, behind the scenes, in front of the scenes.”
Thomas thinks fondly of her time at Temple.
“I loved my time at Temple. It was so much fun. I made a lot of good friends, made a lot of good memories. The professors that I had really helped shape my future and what I am today.”
Originally published at Klein.Temple.edu