Joanne Chiang grew up in the Dallas suburb of Richardson. She chose Southwestern because of its pre-med program and relatively close location to home. It was here that she discovered her true academic niche. Chiang earned a B.A. in communication studies with a minor in biology and has gone on to blaze her own trail in network broadcasting.

Now living in New York, Chiang has been working with NBC Olympics for the past two and a half years. "Our department coordinates overall logistics during NBC's presence before, during and after an Olympic games," she explains. "I landed the opportunity to work in Athens as the primetime broadcast manager, for which I earned an Emmy, and will resume the same role in Torino for the upcoming Winter Games in February 2006." Chiang knows that in an endeavor as global as the Olympics, communication is vital. She has discovered that no matter how well people communicate, being mindful of others' backgrounds and experiences ultimately promotes a broader learning experience.

Chiang believes that the education and opportunities afforded her at Southwestern adequately prepared her for life after college. "The small academic and social setting at Southwestern gave me the opportunity to learn from people of all backgrounds. The community atmosphere created a comfortable outlet to interact and learn from students studying other curricula," Chiang notes.

She often feels that she utilizes what she learned taking POK's without even realizing that she has. "Only in retrospect have I learned to appreciate a liberal arts education. Like most Southwestern graduates, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do or where I was going, but I soon discovered that four years of liberal arts education trained me to be adaptable, which is how I continue to build my skill sets and have the confidence to take risks and grow," Chiang says.

While at Southwestern, Chiang learned to manage her time between schoolwork, being an RA, and participation in SU Cheerleaders, band, AKPsi, yearbook, APO, and her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. "Some of my most memorable moments include being one of the first women to live in Brown-Cody, SING!--especially the endless hours of preparation, the old Commons and the new McCombs Student Center, the new FAB, frog dissection in anatomy, Destination: Service in New Orleans and hearing former president Jimmy Carter speak on campus," Chiang says.

Southwestern's encouragement of community and promotion of diversity provided Chiang with skills essential to the performance of her job today. "As a minority on campus, I embraced the opportunity to share my experiences and also learned to deal with expectations and misconceptions," says Chiang.

She remains dedicated to service and to her alma mater. Since her move to New York, she has organized several Alumni Day of Service events as well as GOLD Fund happy hours with alumni in the area. "I view service projects as a way to bring people from different backgrounds to work toward the same goal," Chiang says. At the last event she planned, the group joined NY Cares Spring Clean-up Day to beautify a park in Brooklyn. "After a day's work, the non-Bucs were soon transformed to honorary SU alumni ... with simply a hand eye-patch and an "Arrrghh," says Chiang. "For my non-SU friends, Southwestern became more than just an obscure small, private school somewhere north of Austin."

To current SU students, Chiang says, "Do not leave any stone unturned. Do your research, talk to advisors, go to networking events, talk to alumni that work in the fields you're interested in, be resourceful, ask questions, stay curious and watch NBC's coverage of the Winter Games Feb. 10-26 from Torino, Italy!"