West Virginia Student Selected as 'Roving Reporter of the Year'

Aug. 26, 2009— -- Kasey Hott, a senior broadcast news major from West Virginia University, was selected as "Roving Reporter of the Year" by the ABC News On Campus management team.

Journalism students from around the country submitted videos through the Roving Reporter online submission form. In the end, the selection committee chose Hott based on the quality of two thorough and powerful submissions, which were both featured on ABCNews.com: "Recession-Proof City," a package about Morgantown, W.V., and "Virginia Tech's Legacy of Safety," a package commemorating the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings.

ABC News provided Hott, 21, with an all-expense paid stay in New York City Aug.18-19 to meet with ABC News executives and visit the "Good Morning America" studios.

"The whole day was so incredible but I think the moment I'll remember most is getting to meet Diane Sawyer," said Hott, who grew up watching ABC's "Primetime" and "20/20."

"I've always admired her, growing up, and to meet her, she was just so sweet and kind and something I'll never forget. She's exactly what I imagined her to be: classy and down to earth. Just the fact that she even took the time to talk to a college student who wants to be a reporter really says a lot about her character."

When Hott found out she had won, she was delighted -- and surprised.

"I did not even know about the competition -- my professor at West Virginia University knew about the ABC News on Campus Web site and she submitted a couple of my stories. The first one -- I didn't even know she was going to submit it. And I was really excited to know that ABC had chosen me for the Web site."

The good news that she had won came from graduate assistant Steve Butera, a fan of Hott's who had worked with her at the journalism school.