Adam Winkler has been surrounded by the field of communications for a majority of his young life. His parents started a public relations business, Winkler Public Relations, and they both have served as professional and lifelong role models for Winkler. "My dad spent the majority of his professional life dealing with the media or providing training to those who do," states Winkler. "Additionally, my parents have taught me invaluable lessons about life. Anything I have accomplished thus far, I attribute to the foundation laid by my family."

Before his senior year of high school, Winkler had never heard of Southwestern University. Recruited to play on Southwestern's baseball team, Winkler was a little unsure about the small size of Southwestern. Winkler notes, "I graduated from Klein High--with an enrollment near 4,000--with 867 students in my senior class, so I was a bit hesitant about attending such a small university. However, it did not take me long to realize that Southwestern's size was one of its biggest strengths."

Once at Southwestern, Winkler became involved in playing on the baseball team and in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. "I was fortunate to share the baseball field for four years with some of the most talented and likeable teammates I have ever played with," comments Winkler. "Being a Phi Delt, I was able to fine-tune my leadership skills by living with and learning from some of the best leaders on campus." Additionally, Winkler wanted to give back the place that provided him with so many opportunities. "Through Student Foundation and SU Ambassadors, I had an opportunity to promote Southwestern, and my goal was to leave the University in better shape than it was when I first arrived on campus," states Winkler. He was also a member of the first pledge class of Lambda Pi Eta, the national communication honor society.

"I knew I wanted to go into broadcast journalism before I ever applied to Southwestern," Winkler recalls. "Early on in my high school days, something about this business turned me on, and I have never really had the desire to do anything else." Receiving a degree in communication studies, Winkler is grateful for the liberal arts education that he received at Southwestern. "While I wasn't able to focus specifically on broadcasting, I had an opportunity to scratch the surface of a variety of areas in communications and that experience is priceless in this business," states Winkler. "My job is people--communicating with them on a daily basis. Not only am I using the public speaking and the journalism aspects of my degree, I am communicating on an interpersonal level, and tapping into all of the coursework I received at Southwestern. I would not trade my liberal arts education for a broadcast journalism degree anywhere in America."

Following his graduation, Winkler was willing to relocate in order to land his first on-air job. After a few months, Winkler was offered a job at KNOE-TV in Monroe, La. With most of his family living in Louisiana, Winkler didn't mind the relocation at all. "I'm truly blessed to be this close to home, and I'm not completely out of my element."

Winkler works as the KNOE-TV weekend sports anchor. This entails anchoring four sportscasts each week during the six and 10 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, Winkler reports three times during the week, and during football season, he co-hosts a Friday night high school football show. "My job is very rewarding and not simply because I get to talk about sports all day, everyday," says Winkler. "Getting to be on the field during the big game is a cool perk, but there is nothing like bringing a camera and a microphone out to a little league baseball team's practice and watching those kids faces light up knowing they are about to be on television."

In June, after just two years in the business, Winkler won an award for "Best Sportscast in Louisiana" by the Associated Press. Ten years from now, Winkler has no doubt that he still be in the reporting business. Winkler states, "Broadcast journalism is my passion, and I know I am lucky to have a job I truly enjoy. I plan on doing this for a very long time, but I guess that's ultimately up to the viewers, right?"