ABC News’ Juju Chang Shared Stories of Persistence

Strauss Performing Arts Center – Juju Chang has a front row seat to humanity’s highest highs and lowest lows as one of the top journalists with ABC News. Her upbringing is both personal and universal, she says.

🗞️ What’s new: Emmy-Award winning journalist Juju Chang spent a day touring the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), interacting with students, and sharing how her life as a Korean immigrant, competitive swimmer, and more shaped her career in broadcasting.

Chang, a regular contributor to ABC’s Good Morning America and 20/20, and the co-anchor of Nightline, traveled to UNO as part of the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media’s (CFAM) Spotlight and in collaboration with the Sieu Mei Tu Lecture Series.

💡Why it matters: As one of the most prominent broadcasters of her generation, Chang’s insight on the media landscape, story of overcoming and tireless work ethic offer CFAM students a glimpse of the reality behind a career in broadcast journalism. In sharing her journey and knowledge, Chang shows students and professionals alike how persistence and adversity can mold your story.

📣 What we heard: Chang, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, said her 40+ year-long career in journalism has been shaped by her upbringing as an immigrant in California and growing up marginalized.

Being part of the Sieu Mei Tu series is an honor, Chang said, and she sees pieces of herself and her family in Tu’s story of overcoming hardship, pursuing excellence and hoping to support and help the next generation.

“I am of the kind that luck has something to do with it,” Chang said of her career and as a piece of advice to those getting started. “Yet, you have to have the foundation to take advantage of the lucky breaks that come your way.”

To recipients of UNO’s Sieu Mei Tu endowment scholarship, and to all students at the threshold of their careers, she offers the reminder that being a kind, compassionate and decent human can take you far.