Joyce Kulhawik pt1 -115

I come from a long line of working women. It wasn’t a matter of learning to have confidence, it was a matter of learning to work hard to get what one wanted and I knew that I would work hard to get whatever I wanted. -Joyce Kulhawik Joyce Kulhawik is a trailblazer for women in the arts. As the first full-time arts reporter/critic in the United States, she broke down barriers for women in television and made it her mission to promote the importance of the arts in our lives. Raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut by loving, hard working parents, Joyce was the organist and soloist for her church, danced ballet, was the president of her senior class, and had no fear of public speaking. But Joyce says: “I just didn’t know what to do with all of that!” Always a “talker”, Joyce loved words, great writing, literature and critical points of view. When it came time to go to college, she double majored in Literature and Education and began a career as a high school english teacher that lasted about two years. She left her position with no other job to go to because she knew that teaching was not for her. The story of how Joyce ended up on television is two parts talent and one part old fashioned chutzpah. One of the original members of the Evening Magazine team in Boston, Joyce experienced “lightening in a bottle” on a show that would become the inspiration for copycat news magazine programs nationwide. As the longtime arts & entertainment reporter for WBZ, Joyce gave journalistic stature to arts reporting, winning numerous Emmys for the WBZ series “You Gotta Have Arts”, and her role in team coverage at Ground Zero. It wasn’t long before Joyce was tapped by Roger Ebert and Leonard Malton to co-host their nationally syndicated movie review shows. A three time cancer survivor, Joyce testified before Congress on the 20th anniversary of the National Cancer Act and has been a champion for the American Cancer Society, which honored her for her work with its National Bronze Medal. Her trailblazer legacy is reflected in her status as a member of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, The New England Emmys Governor’s Award, an Honorary Doctorate in Communications from her alma mater, Simmons University and an endowed scholarship in her name at the Berklee College of Music. For a master class in what it takes to create the kind of career that has a pulse, and a purpose, download part one of the story of Joyce Kulhawik.  #theatre  #arts  #inspiringstories #womeninmedia