Kayla McDermott

While growing up about an half an hour from New York City, my passion for talking to people, and learning their stories, always made me think about becoming a journalist. I’m lucky to say by the time I accepted a job as a multimedia journalist here at WHIO I had received some of the country’s best training from Northwestern University. My journey from Chicago to Dayton starts near my hometown located in Rockland County, New York at Manhattan College. There, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree, while pitching for their Division 1 Softball Team. I loved playing softball but, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic cut my senior year short. I knew I wanted to be the best, unbiased journalist I could be. That is an extremely important value to me. After my undergrad, I made it a priority to get accepted to Northwestern University, and am proud to hold a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism. While at Northwestern, I was able to anchor, report and produce for the local cable television show, CAN-TV’s “Chicago this Week.” In addition, I also produced a segment focusing on local Chicago sports. It was while obtaining my master’s degree, I also discovered an important Ohio story. I had the fortune of co-creating a short documentary on the Mansfield news organization Richland Source. I am very excited to explore all Dayton has to offer. When I’m not working, you will most likely see me out on runs, thrift shopping or taking my puppy, Cooper, out on walks.