Three siblings have created a strong Green family Illinois State connection. Each became a School of Communication graduate with an interest in TV news that began inside Fell Hall.
Appears InAlison (Green) Kelly ’03 came to ISU first. She tried every job at TV-10 before discovering her love of writing and producing.
“That’s the great thing about that program at ISU. You get to do so many different things. I felt like I was working in the business before I even graduated,” Alison said. She is an Emmy Award-winning executive producer at the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona.
Following in her footsteps were younger siblings Caitlin Green ’09 and Ross Green ’11. Ross gained experience at TV-10 also and WZND, the radio station where Caitlin worked as well. Both were hired at KHQA in their hometown of Quincy, where she remains the station’s digital director. Ross was the weeknight news anchor before transitioning to a school district communications job in Colorado recently.
“I don’t know how it all started, but I guess we were all born with the same love for speaking, organizing things, deadlines, and the horrible stress of the TV business,” Ross said, reflecting on his days in television with his siblings.
None of the three can explain how and why they went into the same field. Their dad works in insurance, their mom in retail. They agree that ISU provided a well-rounded experience through courses and station work that was excellent preparation for the working world.
“I didn’t feel like I was behind or needed to play catch-up when I got that first job,” Ross said. “I was really happy with the experience I had there in the School of Communication.”
The trio maintains their strong ISU connection through campus visits for such things as football games. Having worked in the same field makes it easy for them to talk shop, swap work stories, and share inside jokes.
“It’s crazy. I never would’ve thought it would’ve ended up this way, but we’re loving it. We’re just one big close-knit TV family,” Alison said.
More specifically, a Redbird family.
