Simmons Uses BU Degree to Begin Successful TV Career

Former Bluefield University student Aynae Simmons, now a television news anchor and reporter, shared how she created a path for her career and became an alumna BU students can look up to.

Former Bluefield University student Aynae Simmons is putting her degree to good use as a television anchor and reporter for 59 News in Ghent, West Virginia.

Simmons attended Manchester High School’s Specialty Center for Mass Communications in Midlothian, Virginia, before coming to Bluefield to further her education. She earned a degree in Communication with a concentration in Modern Media from BU in the spring of 2021. During her time at Bluefield, she also played on the women’s basketball team and served as president of the Student Government Association. In addition, she served as a writer and social media manager for the BU student newspaper, The Rampage.

To better prepare herself for a career after college, Simmons completed two internships: one with a governmental public relations firm (David Bailey Associates) in Richmond, Virginia, and another Quintern internship with WVVA-TV in Bluefield, West Virginia. Not long after graduating from BU in August of 2021, Simmons became a member of the 59 News team, and she recently shared with us what it’s like to work at 59 News.

“I get up in the morning, and we do what’s called our morning meeting, and all the reporters get together,” Simmons said. “We talk with our assignment manager who assigns stories. We tell him our pitched stories and what we want to do. I cover Mercer (WV) and Tazewell (VA) counties. I go around talking to city officials, people in the public, and regular residents about what’s going on where they live.”

Simmons, who is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, explained how time-consuming her job can be with interviewing, reporting, finding the right people and information for her stories, writing and editing. But, she said she still enjoys her job.

“I go out and meet so many different people,” Simmons said. “My job is so unique and different and better than sitting at a desk all day, because to me that’s boring.”

Simmons said she gives credit to Bluefield University for her early success and she’s thankful for how the university prepared her for her career in television news.

“BU helped me prepare for my job because of some of the classes I took,” Simmons said. “Some classes taught me how to write; you must know how to write if you want to work on TV. I learned how to write articles, press releases, and anything journalistic. Even taking (Professor) Shoemaker’s Media Law and Media Ethics classes prepared me, because it created a good backbone for good reporting and broadcasting.”

Simmons advised current BU communication students to be persistent now and when on the job.

“Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said. “If you’re doing a story and people keep telling you they don’t want to do the interview, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Find your story, find that interview that you need, and don’t give up. Always try to get the best story. Follow your rules, and the world is yours.”

While Simmons has enjoyed her first job after college at 59 News, she will be leaving the TV station for a new opportunity this spring.

“I just received a job offer to work at a station in (Washington) DC,” Simmons said. “I plan to move up there and start my new job.”

Simmons is an example of hard work and determination and is certainly well on her way to becoming an alumna that Bluefield University students can admire and look up to.

Photo courtesy of 59 News.