“Real Lessons from a Silly Show” details Aidan Hatton’s takeaways and lessons learned from hosting the podcast “Games & Grub” on Marquette University Radio. Starting an interview series after the COVID-19 outbreak, Aidan shares the valuable wisdom given by so many local and national success stories in their conversations, presented in a more professional, business-oriented context.
Written June 6, 2020
So many of us have gotten used to seeing the same faces on television every day, delivering us the news, the weather forecast, or that day’s sports scores.
I was lucky enough to meet one, albeit virtually.
Trenni Kusnierek of NBC Sports Boston graduated from Marquette University in 1999, and is a Wisconsin native through and through. However, she has quickly become, in her words, “a fabric of the community” in the 617.
Possessing a personality relatable to both New Englanders and Wisconsinites, Kusnierek’s success has brought her a wealth of wisdom. In our conversation, she had tons of perspective to share on her struggles with mental health, how she thrives on a tight schedule, and even her development as an avid runner (she has 12 marathons under her belt!).
What Marquette means to her: “Marquette was so influential on the person that I became, as a broadcaster and reporter but mostly a person. I loved going to a school where people cared about each other, and where service was really important. I think that experience really led me to wanting to give back, no matter what I did… Marquette right from the jump really cared about people.”
In the last sentence of her answer, from the audio perspective Kusnierek paused to really emphasize that Marquette “cared about…people.” This simple but powerful sentiment stuck with me, that someone who experienced my university more than 20 years ago can describe exactly how I feel about the school’s number one strength: its people skills.
In addition, it seems MU’s mission towards service has not changed in the two decades between Kusnierek’s and my own time on campus, and affected the former deeply. As 80% of students today participate in some form of service, Kusnierek recognizes the university’s efforts to serve the campus community, the city of Milwaukee, and beyond. It is certainly motivating to hear a person of her status speak on service and the importance of helping others. Recently she partnered with DocPPE to donate face masks to Franciscan Children’s in Brighton, MA. As she has found her place in media, she upholds a clear concern for people in their own journey. In the song “Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw puts it best: “When you get where you’re goin’, don’t forget to turn back around, and help the next one in line.”
The cover story for the Diederich College of Communication magazine in December 2018 profiled alumni who have made “the difference” as women in sports journalism, including Trenni Kusnierek (illustrated back left), Jen Lada (back middle), Sophia Minnaert (back right), Mary Schmitt Boyer (front left), and Nancy Armour (front right).
On finding her passion: “I knew I wanted to be a television broadcaster when I was eight. From the time I was a little kid, I would interview my parents with a camcorder, or whatever was available in the ’80s…but I didn’t know I wanted to do sports until I went away to college. Growing up, there weren’t a lot of women in sports. There were a few, but we didn’t have cable growing up, so I didn’t see the Linda Cohns and the Hannah Storms and the Lesley Vissers early on…I have a friend who always says, ‘If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.’ I couldn’t see it, until I was a little bit older.”
Stories like Trenni’s amaze me: first, they know what they want to do with their life at such a young age. Second, no matter what circumstances they are dealt, they do whatever they possibly can to make their dreams a reality. Kusnierek’s story of growing up loving broadcasting yet without cable in her household emphasizes her steadfast determination.
Kusnierek’s journey as a woman in sports was one filled with obstacles. She displayed her admiration to legends like Cohn, Storm, and Visser, those who paved the road for Kusnierek to walk on. Once she got to college, she explained, she started to see the potential. She was constantly guided by the Marquette alumni network, both in Milwaukee at WISN-TV where she got her first internship, and in Boston, where noted alumnus Charlie Pierce has become a friend.
Taping “Early Edition” on NBC Sports Boston, Trenni Kusnierek (middle) sits between two giants in the Boston sports media landscape, Michael Felger (left) and Lou Merloni (right).
Describing her struggles with depression: “What’s helped since I started talking publicly about it, is just talking publicly about it. Lifting that veil of shame and embarrassment of feeling like, ‘Am I the only one who feels broken, like my brain isn’t working the same way?’…Social media makes things harder, because you can’t escape anything. That’s really hard in my profession. I just try my best to minimize what I allow into my social media feeds. That doesn’t mean not being open to people whose opinions are different than mine, but if you’re going to use it as an attack platform, I just block you. I’m really careful about how I let people speak to me in those forums.”
Using social media as an “attack platform” seems to be a regular occurrence these days. With the current environment we are navigating, Kusnierek continues to maintain both a strong presence on social media, but also a keen eye for critics and so-called “trolls.” With the number of people on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms steadily increasing, there should be an awareness as to how social media affects our psyche. Kusnierek comments on this aspect of those apps here in an impactful way, and how it has affected her battle with depression. As a mental health advocate, Kusnierek stands strong for what she believes in, and will not back down to those criticizing on any medium.
Her advice to college students in daily life during COVID-19: “Having a schedule, kind of forcing yourself to set the alarm and get up in the morning, say ‘from this time to this time, I’m going to do schoolwork. Then I’m going to give myself a lunch break like I normally would. Then I’m going to go for a walk.’ If you just write those things down — and honestly, that’s how I live my normal life, even when we’re not in COVID. I’m a big believer in writing things down, putting things on a schedule, and giving yourself some accountability…Keeping yourself accountable to stuff helps you stay on track and create habits that are healthy and mindful for what you’re doing.”
Staying “healthy and mindful” in one’s daily life an excellent goal, and Kusnierek takes tangible steps to get there. Planning out a daily schedule may not be for everyone, especially those in creative industries such as artists or authors. However, writing things down has been proven to create more success — especially in the classroom — as opposed to typing things out the modern way on a phone or computer. This applicable lesson can help anyone; having the ability to put pen to paper and translate those words into your brain in an efficient manner can bring immense power. It is a major discovery and strength of Kusnierek that she knows she absorbs things better written down, in comparison to being typed out.
Speaking of comparisons…
What she’s learned from getting into running: “You know what the most important thing is? Don’t compare yourself. That’s the best advice I have for runners. Running is a great individual sport…Everyone has their own pace, their own style, their own gait, their own everything. So don’t think that you’re a ‘bad runner’ because you’re not as fast as somebody else.”
To finish, what I like to call “the comparison game” is one of the easiest to play. Match yourself up with someone you believe is inferior to you, and your ego is boosted. Match yourself up with someone whom you believe to be superior, and you become less happy. Here’s an example from the college student perspective: if you get really good at this game, your latest exam score fails to carry as much weight as the score in comparison to your classmate’s.
As she was training to run her 13th marathon, Kusnierek found out days before our interview that the 2020 Boston Marathon would be postponed (and eventually canceled altogether). Kusnierek’s comments on running certainly bring me back to the importance of avoiding “the comparison game.” She continued to explain in her extended answer that as more people post their workouts on social media during COVID-19, paying more attention to what pace others are running at will be a detriment to your own ability. As Kusnierek explains, running your own race — whether you’re in the race of life or an actual one — will ensure success, happiness, and security in oneself.
For someone who has made their mark as much as Trenni Kusnierek has, she certainly retains the humility to pass along what she has learned to the listening audience. I want to sincerely thank Trenni once again for coming on, and being so generous with both her time and knowledge. Next week, “Real Lessons from a Silly Show” will dive into the wisdom given by Cam Marotta, the Marquette Men’s Basketball alumnus now on the bench as a Program Assistant.
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