In the heat of the summer, teenagers were out with more freedom away                                                                       from school. For Nicholas Slater (12), this included hitting the gym, playing                                                                         basketball and mowing lawns with his own business. When the fall came                                                                           around, however, Slater could be found in front of a camera, anchoring for the                                                               daily ITTV news.

                                                                 “In front of the camera is great because I’m able to show off my personality,                                                               who I am, what I stand for and I’m able to have the ability to make the viewing                                                                 experience more enjoyable. That's something that I value just because without                                                               commentating, sports would be ‘blah’ in my opinion,” Slater said.

                                                                 With hopes of going into sports broadcasting as a career, Slater joined the                                                                 communications academy. He took a step in this direction by joining ITTV. His                                                                 co-ancher, Charlie Hamilton (12), described their dynamic as sweet and savory,                                                             Slater being the sweet one.

                                                                  “I would describe [Slater] as like a Swiss army knife, like he could be utilized                                                               in many different ways,” Hamilton said. “Not only is he a good person and a                                                                       good friend and a good person to talk to, if you need help with an assignment                                                                 or finding and building good connections, he’s the man to go to. He quite                                                                           frankly knows everybody.”

                                                                  With a love of sports and talking, sports broadcasting appeared as the                                                                       perfect job for Slater. He was inspired as a kid, waking up early to watch “First                                                                 Take” on ESPN. Slater gave his admiration to Al Michaels as he hopes to replicate Michaels’ ability to make connections with the viewers. 

      “He is a really personable person. When he’s talking to you, he’s all in, and he’s listening. He genuinely cares, and I think he's so passionate,” Michelle Corbett, Slater’s journalism teacher, said. “He’s really passionate about sports broadcast. He cares about it. He is talking about sports all the time, so I think that’s where his passion is.” 

      Outside of school, Slater had two internships, broadcasting high school games for Gateway and announcing youth sports games for the Brewers. Slater was also the co-president of DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America, wanting to give each student an “amazing experience” and do well for the community. 

      “I like to connect with the kids individually. I would say being president allows me to be almost an inspiration for some of the freshmen and sophomores who are just joining DECA,” Slater said. “So it's being able to connect with them one-on-one and create a personal connection with each student, regardless of their position. I think it's really important, and I think it's helped a lot of kids figure out the ins and outs of DECA.”

      He originally joined DECA to improve his communication skills. Formerly being a shy presenter, Slater had DECA to thank for his confidence in front of crowds and the camera.

      “I think everything comes full circle. Everything you do in life is a learning moment or a learning lesson. So, just trying to stack all of the things that you learn makes you a better person in the end, in every area of life,” Slater said.

      Slater was still learning to get over the stress of everything, but found certain things like journaling, writing goals, daily planning and putting his phone away. He stayed motivated through his faith, building his life on the bible and wanting to spread the word of Jesus Christ. 

      “I do everything because not only do I want to impress others, I also want to do it for myself,” Slater said. “I want to just reach the highest capacity I can before I go, because you only get one shot at it.”