Perseverance pays off
By Danielle Berlowitz
J Alumni News staff
The recognition keeps coming.
When Dara Troutman graduated from UNL's journalism program in 1988, the broadcasting department chose her to receive the American Women in Radio and Television Marie Hulbert Award. Later that year she finished second in the country in the first-ever broadcasting finals of the prestigious William Randolph Hearst Journalism Awards Program.
While she was a radio reporter in the early 1990s, she received more than a dozen awards from the Associated Press and the Northwest Broadcast News Association.
She has been recognized for her contributions to the Lincoln community through organizations such as Lincoln Leadership and the Association for Retarded Citizens of Lincoln and Lancaster County.
She was selected as one of Lincoln's 2002 "20 Under 40" future leaders by the Lincoln Journal Star.
Now Troutman is being honored again. This time she is one of 21 Americans chosen as a 2003 German Marshall Memorial Fellow. The group will travel this fall to parts of central, northern and southern Europe on an all-expense paid trip lasting about 30 days, beginning in Brussels, Belgium, and ending in Paris or Berlin.
Throughout the trip, fellows will discuss their opinions and ideas about relations between the United States and the European Union with their colleagues and with world leaders.
Troutman is the only fellow from Nebraska this year and only the second Nebraskan chosen since the program was created in 1999. Mike Zeleny, another UNL alumnus, was appointed
a 2002 German Marshall Memorial Fellow.
Troutman, 36, is currently the assistant general manager of communications and government affairs at Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.
Troutman began working full time for an insurance company when she was 18 years old and a sophomore at UNL. She got her start in broadcasting in 1987 as an overnight weekend announcer for Lincoln radio station KLMS. In 1988, she interned for Omaha television station KETV.
From March 1988 to October 1991, she worked as a news director, anchor and reporter at KLIN Radio in Lincoln. From November 1991 to April 1992, she was the deputy press secretary for then U.S. Sen. Robert Kerrey.
Troutman also served as press secretary, deputy director of affairs and emergency management liaison for former Gov. Ben Nelson. After earning the master of arts degree from UNL in 1998, she taught introductory broadcasting classes in the COJMC.
Ben Nelson, now a U.S. senator, said Troutman built a remarkable record of success. While still in her twenties, just two years out of college, Troutman was already an award-winning reporter.
"Seldom have I had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand a young person, such as Dara, with the burning desire to go after their goal with something more than just the ambition to succeed, but also with the enthusiasm to want to make a difference and the dogged determination to actually make that difference occur," Nelson said in a letter of recommendation for the fellowship.
According to the Program Manual and Fellows Guide, the German Marshall Fund of the United States is meant to educate a new generation of leaders about Europe, the transatlantic partnership and global challenges both sides face.
Troutman said the Marshall program is still in its infancy.
"It is a huge honor to be appointed for this [fellowship], more so because Lincoln is not a magnet community from which a lot of people are chosen," Troutman said.
She said the fellowship is especially attractive to her because she loves public policy.
"Public policy is a very meaningful thing in our lives, and through public policy, I believe government really can make our world a better place," Troutman said.
James Milliken, a former NU administrator, said one of the best professional decisions he ever made was hiring Troutman as a key member of his staff in 1996. Troutman worked as an external communications specialist under Milliken and was promoted twice in three years.
"Dara has the ability, the interest and perhaps most important, the passion, to play a prominent role in local, state and national affairs in the coming decades. She would be a worthy representative of emerging American leaders," said Milliken, former vice president of external affairs for the University of Nebraska system, in a letter of recommendation.
A current NU administrator concurred.
Kim Robak, NU vice president for external affairs, said she had always been impressed with Troutman's enthusiasm for public policy.
"This love [for public policy] coupled with her background, skills and passion for what makes government work, makes her an outstanding candidate for the Marshall Memorial Fellows Program," Robak said in a phone interview.
Troutman said she hoped the fellowship would help her increase her overall knowledge, cultivate personal relationships, share values and learn things that will let her be an influential part of Lincoln's future.
"I am really looking forward to picking people's brains, European and American leaders alike," Troutman said. "It will be a tremendous experience."
