Alumni Spotlight: Garrett Haake
Journalism alum Garrett Haake (B.A. ’07) reflects on how his Meadows experience gave him the skills and confidence to secure his career as an NBC news correspondent.
Garrett Haake (B.A. ’07) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.
Garrett Haake, who studied journalism while at Meadows, is currently a Senior Capitol Hill Correspondent for NBC where he reports on everything from military and intelligence policy to Medicare and infrastructure. During his time in the journalism program, he worked on SMU’s news show The Daily Update and learned vital skills of the trade including how to write for television and print, and, most importantly, how to think critically.
“My experience at Meadows led me directly to my first job in the industry and gave me the skills and the confidence to do reasonably well at it,” explains Haake, who believes his education gave him a leg up in his career following graduation. “One of my professors, Lucy Scott, recognized my passion for national news and helped me land an internship with NBC Nightly News in New York in the summer before my senior year.”
Throughout this summer internship it was clear that Haake had more production experience than most of the other interns, thanks to his Meadows education, and he was offered a desk assistant job with NBC after he graduated. Now, in his role as a Capitol Hill Correspondent, Haake has access to more than 535 lawmakers and hundreds more staffers that help inform his stories and reporting, which he refers to as a “constant education.” Even in the real world, the learning never stops.
“Try to enjoy being a true student,” says Haake. “If you're doing it right, especially in this field, you never stop learning, but being a full-time student gives you this incredible opportunity to just fill your tanks up on everything and anything you're interested in.”
When he’s not chasing down stories on Capitol Hill, Haake enjoys his time at home with his family. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife, Allison Harris, and their daughter Lane Haake, who just turned one.
Learn more about Meadows' Division of Journalism here.
Haake prepares for a live broadcast in Washington, D.C. [Photo credit: Frank Thorp]