Kristin Parisi: Our 2023 Axthelm Scholarship Award Winner
The Pete and Bonnie Axthelm Memorial Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship for students in the Diederich College of Communication. This scholarship specifically recognizes students who demonstrate a developed interest and ability in sports communication.
My name is Kristin Parisi and I am a junior studying journalism and digital media. I am from Ellicott City, Md., which is just 25 minutes outside of Baltimore. Although I am an East Coast lover, coming to Milwaukee and the midwest has changed my life. My cousin and my sister are both Marquette alumni, so they were always putting the idea of Marquette in my brain. It was a hard decision to move so far from home, but coming here has been so rewarding.
I work at the Marquette Wire, which is the student run media organization here at Marquette. I started my freshman year as a sports reporter but was promoted to an Assistant Sports Producer just two months in. I now serve as the Executive Sports Producer for Marquette Television. In this role, I film and cut up video highlights of various sporting events here at Marquette, run and put together our weekly sports show, Golden Eagle Sports Report and I am able to be an on-air analyst and sports broadcaster for Marquette.
This award means everything to me because I love what I do here at Marquette and at the Marquette Wire, so it is an honor to be the Pete and Bonnie Axthelm Scholarship Award Winner for 2023! Pete and Bonnie both left such a strong legacy behind, and I hope by winning this award, I can keep both of their memories alive. Pete was such a talented sports journalist and cared about the stories he was able to tell. His story-telling skills and passion for sports journalism was so inspiring, so I hope I can carry his passion in whatever job I hold. Bonnie was a pioneer for women in the workplace and seeing her break barriers at 3M and work her way up to the top is something I hope to replicate for women in sports journalism.
In my three years here at Marquette, I have been able to do so many incredible things, but going to the 2023 Big East Tournament has to be my favorite so far. As a Knicks and Rangers fan, going to Madison Square Garden is always an amazing experience, but going as a journalist to cover postseason college basketball is unmatched. Walking onto the floor, seeing so many incredible names up in the rafters, and taking in the arena and all the memories that come with it was an unreal experience that I will never forget. I also was able to be on the radio call courtside when Marquette defeated Xavier to win the Big East Tournament, so it was an all-around amazing experience. I will never forget the memories and all that I learned while I was there.
In five years, I hope to have a stable job in the sports journalism field. I would love to work at a television station and work as a sports anchor and multimedia journalist so I can combine both my on-air skills and my story-telling skills into one job. I hope to continue filming and producing sports stories for a top sports organization or professional sports team or league. After spending time on the producing side, I hope to make my way back on air as an anchor or analyst at ESPN or on a daily sports television show! All I want to do is keep creating content and keep telling the stories of athletes and coaches to the world. I love being in the sports business and I hope to create a name for myself and make a difference in the industry!