Ornat — a student of UMD’s College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences (CAHSS) known to her friends and colleagues as Mo — is halfway through her senior year, pursuing a major in Journalism with minors in Spanish and Arts in the Media. She said she first considered journalism as a career after taking a visual media course her freshman year.
“It took a while for me to narrow down what I actually wanted to do, and what I felt most passionate about,” Ornat said. “I have always loved learning about people, and writing, and photography, and with journalism I feel like I’ve found my niche where I can combine all my skills. It’s perfect for me.”
Ornat began in her role at KBJR — also known as Northern News Now — Duluth’s NBC affiliate in the fall of 2024.
Since starting at KBJR Ornat said she has been struck by the passion her co-workers have for what they do.
Students who participate in internships and other experiential learning opportunities have an easier time finding a job after graduation. Numerous studies have shown that internships can have a significant positive impact on a student’s employability. As such, an important part of the CAHSS mission is to help students find these opportunities to better equip them for success inside and outside the classroom.
Ornat got her start in sports photography during the summer of 2024 as a media intern with the Duluth Harbor Monsters — a new arena league football team in the area — a position she earned by messaging the team’s General Manager on Instagram.
In addition to her work at KBJR Ornat has taken on the role of sports photographer for My9 Sports, capturing exciting images of men’s and women’s hockey, basketball, and soccer across the Northland.
"Once they're trained, interns like Marisa will conduct interviews, write scripts, and shoot and edit video,” Paul Brown said. Brown is the News Director at KBJR, and a journalism professor at UMD. “Because Marisa and other interns are putting together material that will air on our newscasts or post on our website, she can point to having professional experience and share that as part of her portfolio. That kind of experience should set her apart from other graduates.”
Ornat said her experiences as an intern reporter and undergraduate student have complemented each other.
“Knowing the basics, like how to shoot a wide shot, or a tight shot and that kind of stuff has been really useful in the internship,” Ornat said. She also expressed a newfound appreciation for professional journalists she encounters in her studies since becoming one herself.
Marisa is seeing how a news organization operates,” Brown said. “It's one thing to talk about the process in class, but it's another to see it in action. This experience is allowing her to observe deadlines in real time. It's also giving her insight into decision making in terms of what stories to cover and enterprise.”
The benefits of student internships also extend beyond their post-graduate employment prospects into the classroom. Research suggests students across a wide range of subjects and disciplines have demonstrated improved academic performance compared to their peers who have not participated in internships.
Ornat comes from a military family, and currently is an Army Reservist. She recently earned the Iron Soldier Award by earning the highest physical training score in her platoon.
“Being a student-veteran has been amazing” Ornat said. “I have family in the military, but no women, so I wanted to be the first.”
Ornat’s step-father is an Air Force veteran, and currently works as a postman. Her mother is a social worker.
“[My mom] always made sure I was thinking about other people, and not just myself,” Ornat said.” I want to do something that allows me to show compassion for other people. Telling people’s stories is important. I want to use my voice, and the privilege I have, and the platform I have to make a positive impact on people’s lives, and not just entertain them.”