Alumni Spotlight: Elizabeth Rembert, '19

Elizabeth Rembert

Name: Elizabeth Rembert
Grad Year: 2019
Major: Journalism
Current Position: Agriculture Reporter at Bloomberg News
Current Location: Lincoln, NE

What is your hometown?

Bow Valley, NE

What do you do in your current role?

I write about agriculture markets, focusing mostly on grains and biofuels. I talk to analysts and traders for daily stories that explain price moves, and I also write more elaborate feature stories that explore larger trends.

What experiences did you have as a student at Nebraska that prepared you for this role?

I learned how to care about journalism and think about what needs to go into a story. I wrote so much — at The Daily Nebraskan, in classes and for internships — that writing and reporting became a muscle memory that transferred, with a little work, from feature stories on UNL’s campus into stories on financial markets.

What’s one skill you learned at Nebraska that you still use every day?

The biggest skill I use every single day is receiving feedback and understanding how to learn from it to improve. Especially early in your career, I think it’s more important to make mistakes, learn and progress than to prove you’re always right. COJMC courses give you a place to learn the foundation for a field that typically doesn't have structure -- embrace the opportunity to learn journalism without a 10-minute deadline.

What person (faculty, advisor, staff, peer, etc.) at Nebraska had the biggest impact on your career prep and why?

I didn’t consider business journalism until Joe Weber heard my interest in economics and encouraged me to take that more seriously. He pushed me to invest in my studies, enroll in his financial news class and visit Bloomberg’s office. Without his attention and support, I wouldn’t be where I am now!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I didn't know what I wanted to be, but I did start a newspaper as a little girl -- it covered the news on my family farm and it was called "The Farm Fresh News." It covered things like newborn kittens and where the cows were on the farm that particular day.

What advice do you have for students considering Nebraska?

In national media, remember that being from Nebraska gives you a rare, valuable perspective. Write a lot, get yourself out of your comfort zone and toughen up to cold-call anyone and ask anything. Work at The Daily Nebraskan! Also, don't think about journalism as a set thing -- don't think of yourself specifically as a long, enterprise feature writer. You'll be so much more valuable to a newsroom if you're willing to enthusiastically take anything they throw at you.