Like many high schoolers, sports have inspired Alyssa Ruthstrom throughout her life. However, sports have influenced Alyssa differently than the typical high school athlete. Instead of playing them in the future, Alyssa plans to cover them. In an attempt to look for ways to be creative in her own life after high school, Alyssa found broadcasting as the answer.
One of Alyssa’s most inspiring moments in her childhood was watching the Super Bowl with her family. They would host many people every year. This special day had a big impact on her. “I didn’t pay attention to it that much, but because I was surrounded with it, I feel like that helped me grow to like it, and I think that’s what helped lead me to wanting to go into sports broadcasting for football.”
Super Bowl Sunday was a fun and celebrated day in the Ruthstrom household. Alyssa remembers dressing up and dancing with the halftime performers on the TV, such as Katy Perry in 2015. It was such a fun and exciting day for Alyssa that really just made her excited about sports for the rest of her life.
From the great and happy environment of the football game to the fun and lively moments in the halftime show, Alyssa was inspired to pursue sports broadcasting. The excitement of the game has driven her love for watching sports and the creativity expressed during the halftime show that she now wants to express in her own way. Sports broadcasting allows Alyssa to be creative and expressive while being a part of sports games.
Because of this love for celebrating Super Bowl Sunday, Alyssa wants to major in journalism and go into sports broadcasting, for football specifically. Her dream is to eventually be reporting for ESPN.
Similar to how Super Bowl celebrations inspired her, Alyssa’s father has too. David Ruthstrom, Alyssa’s dad, is the main supporter of her family as her mom is a stay at home parent. He has worked hard to support the family by giving up things for them, such as job opportunities. He has inspired her throughout everything he has done, and she has always looked up to him.
David Ruthstrom works in the electrical field, and although Alyssa doesn’t share the same passion
in career as her father, she wants to be able to express her own creativity and work hard in her own way by being a broadcaster. Because of his hard work and motivation to support her throughout her entire life, with most of the burden on himself, it has inspired Alyssa to work just as hard and accomplish her goals and dreams.
Another part of her life that was overall a life-changing experience was Alyssa’s time on the Morgan volleyball team. “I was like, wow, it was just something that I actually can be good at, and it was kind of just that thing that if I didn’t have anything to do, I would go play it, and, it just made me happy,” explained Alyssa.
“My favorite part about being on the volleyball team was probably the relationships I developed from it and being able to be so close with people from all grades, and helping people feel welcome,” said Alyssa.
Jessica Lynch, coach of the Morgan volleyball team, is “going to miss her big time” and says how she “has such a strong passion for not only the sport, but just being a part of the team. She always brought a lot of energy to practices and games, and she was a great leader for all the younger kids in how to keep working and to keep getting better.”
Lynch describes how Alyssa was a strong player both in and out of the game, as a good outside hitter and the energy and positivity she had on and off the court. Lynch states that Alyssa has no weaknesses, but will sometimes get hard on herself because of her passion for the game.
Alyssa potentially wants to join a club volleyball team at whatever college she ends up at. But being on the volleyball team isn’t the only way that sports have been a formative part of her life. After being on the team, she has learned to be a leader, but most importantly, a great communicator. This is a skill set that will help Alyssa into being a great broadcaster by being able to speak to the fans and grab their attention.
This Spring, Alyssa will to have to make a very hard decision between Penn State and UConn, he
r top two schools that she got into. “It’s just really tough because both of those two colleges give me such a good opportunity to excel in what I want to do, and they’re not my dream of schools, and it’s so hard to pick between two schools that you really like, because you don’t know if it’s going to be the school for you.”
For Alyssa, Penn State has great opportunities for football broadcasting because of their strong football program, which is the sport she wants to report for. On the other hand, UConn is the basketball capital of the world and gives her so many chances for her intended career. This tough decision has many factors to it, more than just what Alyssa wants, but also the cost and location.
Alyssa looks forward to her future and the exciting opportunities ahead of her. “I feel like that’s what makes it really difficult, and because I love them both so much, it’s hard to weigh out the positives and the negatives and pick overall. But I think they both offer me excellent opportunities for my kick-starting my career.”
