On Wednesday night I met my role model, and one of the most respected and admired journalists in the world: Diane Sawyer.
The National Press Club was swarming with members, journalists, and students, anxiously waiting to see Diane Sawyer. Marvin Kalb, host of The Kalb Report, was interviewing Diane Sawyer to kick off his International Women in Media series.
I sat at the edge of my seat in awe, only feet away from the woman I grew up watching on Good Morning America. I listened intensely as Sawyer discussed her life in news. She talked about the start of her career as a weather girl in Kentucky, and the transition to White House press secretary for President Nixon. She spoke of stories on devastation and disaster she covered while anchoring for World News.
I was struck by Sawyers serenity and humility. Every word she spoke reveled her warm personality. When asked the toughest question of the night, “Why did you follow Watergate-disgraced Nixon to California to write his memoir?” her answer was one that all could take to heart. She replied with the words of her late father, “If you are at someone’s side when they are up, you shouldn’t abandon them when they are down.” My respect and admiration for Sawyer grew throughout the entire interview.
Time for questions. The microphone became open to only ten audience members. Not wanting to regret this opportunity, I stood up immediately still forming a question in my mind. My heart was pounding like I just completed a marathon. I asked who was her role model when she was my age that helped get her to where she is today. She responded with her mother, because she never gave up on her.
Afterwards, audience members crowded the stage hoping for a chance to meet Sawyer. I was among them, pushing my way through the crowd, when she turned and pointed in my direction, recalling the question I asked her at the end of the interview. I was so glad I did. Sawyer and I took a picture together. She left me with this quote, “Be as fearless as you can be, and take the risk.”
-McKenzie Kuehnlein
