On Saturday, I volunteered at the Upper Midwest Emmy Gala at the beautiful Historic State Theatre in Minneapolis, Minn.  

The Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences works to honor exceptional work in the television industry, provide professional development and outreach, and nurture the next generation of television professionals (that's me!).

Congratulations to KSTP and KARE 11 for the numerous Emmy awards they
received! I interned at KSTP 5 Eyewitness News over the summer and I currently intern at KARE 11. It was fun to know people in the audience at the Emmy Gala this year because of those experiences, and it was even more fun to be able to root for them!

I was so honored to receive an Award of Excellence for the Talent category with my anchor reel submission for the NATAS Upper Midwest Emmy Student Production Awards last spring.  I was listed on page 12 of the Emmy program book (see above)!  Maybe someday I'll have a "real" Emmy.

I had a blast getting to know the other students who volunteered at the event. They are all pursuing various areas of mass communications, including journalism, marketing and public relations. We arrived at noon to begin setting up for the big event. We set up Emmy statuettes, greeted nominees and helped them find their seats, helped with paperwork to ensure all award winners received the correct trophy, and actually spent some time on stage presenting the trophies to the winners!  Check out this cool time lapse video of all the volunteers setting up for the Gala! (Courtesy: Upper Midwest Emmys)

A big thank you to John Murray, his wife Val, and the rest of the Upper Midwest Emmy volunteers for including us in the festivities! I left feeling inspired to push my journalism and storytelling skills to the next level. I'm ready to get this career going!

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Local leaders from the St. Cloud Somali community are hoping youth will stay away from Al Shabaab, the organization that claimed to be responsible for last week’s attacks in Nairobi, Kenya.

Haji Yusuf, a local advocate and host of Somali Radio, said the Somali community is in shock.

But Yusuf said the problem isn’t new. “The world and the media have ignored the terrible things Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab have been doing to Somalis for years. Al Shabaab is not a Somali problem alone now. It is a global problem.”

Yusuf called Al Shabaab a terrorist group that targets the weak. He and other community members worry that Somali youth are left vulnerable.

Mohamoud Mohamed, who works with Somali refugees daily through the St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization (SASSO), said, “Single mothers come to America with their children to give them a better life. But they can’t afford to take them camping, to take them to restaurants, to the theatre, or to sports games. They end up living life as the lowest of the low.”

Yusuf and Mohamed say the challenges these young people face as immigrants put them at risk of being picked up by terrorist organizations promising them a better life.

“Most of these kids encounter discrimination every day,” said Yusuf. “This is an opening for an evil person to come in and say, ‘See what they’re doing? We have a better option for you.’”

It appears Al Shabaab is trying to enlist youth in its organization with a recruitment video it uploaded to YouTube last month. The video, called “The Path to Paradise,” references “Minnesota’s Martyrs,” which suggests that some Minnesotans have already joined up.

“Those brainwashed, poor children,” said Mohamed, “stolen from us and destroyed by those cruel, cruel terrorist-minded people.”

One member of Al Shabaab who appeared in the recruitment video called his experience “the real Disneyland,” describing how much fun he was having.

“These are people who cannot find people to do their evil deeds,” Yusuf said. “They’re drawing a rosy picture of what’s going on.”

The big question for Yusuf and Mohamed:  Is Al Shabaab recruiting youth in St. Cloud? They don’t think so.

“The Somalis are against Al Shabaab. They know it is a terrorist organization,” said Yusuf.

Mohamed said he believes St. Cloud has remained safe from Al Shabaab influence because of strong community bonds and religious leadership.

“We need to close the doors and make sure Somali youth are engaged and kept safe,” Yusuf said.

Mohamed runs numerous after-school sports and tutoring programs through SASSO to try to keep youth away from Al Shabaab influence.

“They are doing their homework. Most of them are very good students who graduate and go on to higher education,” but he said resources are tight.

Mohamed said local programs need more funding to keep Somali youth engaged in the community.

“We can’t do everything. Our wheels are moving, but we are limited. We want more resources for more activities to reach every student. [These programs] are saving the lives of thousands of children.”

Natalie Davis
UTVS News

I am pleased to announce that I will once again be working with UTVS News at St. Cloud State University this fall.  I will serve as a reporter on Thursdays and main evening anchor with Josh Nguyen on Mondays!  I will also be reporting in Spanish on Thursdays for UTVS News en Español.  Be sure to tune into Charter channel 21 in St. Cloud and online at www.utvsnews.com for UTVS News en Español at 4:00 p.m. on Thursdays and for UTVS News at 12:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday!

I had an incredible summer working at KSTP 5 Eyewitness News as their photojournalist intern! My internship provided me with hands-on, real-world experience that is sure to serve me well as I begin my career in TV news.

Each day, I drove my own company car and handled my own camera equipment to conduct interviews and shoot video. I edited packages and VO/SOTs, wrote stories for the web, and created WEB EXTRA packages for the web. It's a bit mind-blowing that my work made the air every day in the large Twin Cities market! 

I also worked with WONDERFUL people. They gave me solid, constructive criticism to help me build my skills, and they offered advice about the next steps I should take in my career. My photojournalist buddies also gave me a fantastic compliment:  I have "street cred." One of the photojournalists actually approached me and said he was impressed with the work I was doing. He said he has seen a lot of "starry-eyed" female interns come through with aspirations of being a famous face on TV, but they usually don't have the work ethic or skills to back it up. I am just thankful for the opportunity I had to build on my knowledge this summer and meet great people!

A special thank you to Joe Caffrey for hiring and mentoring me and to Brian Stanley for giving an incredible and completely unexpected recommendation on my behalf!

I am excited to announce that I have accepted a position as a fall news intern at KARE 11! My first day is tomorrow! I look forward to learning even more at another Twin Cities news station. A big thank you to Jerrid Sebesta for putting in a good word for me! (I met Jerrid in 2011 during an interview at the State Fair when I was Miss Minnesota.)