Goshen residents flipping though the channels might see a familiar face delivering the news.

Kate Bolduan, a Goshen High School graduate, was recently hired as a correspondent for CNN’s Washington, D.C., bureau.

Since starting on the job two months ago, she’s reported on the Minnesota bridge collapse, the Michael Vick case, and most recently, the United Auto Workers contract agreement. She was also on the scene providing live coverage of the Utah mine collapse.

“It’s been a whirlwind start,” Bolduan said during a recent phone interview.

Bolduan’s interest in a news career began when she was a student at Goshen High School. She took writing courses from English teachers Diane and Doug Cartwright and Marilyn Graber and got involved with the school newspaper, being named editor-in-chief her senior year.

“I enjoyed reporting on the events at Goshen High School and having people read my work,” she said. Later, while in college at George Washington University, she enrolled in a broadcast journalism class. That was when she really got the news “bug,” she said.

Bolduan works whenever news breaks and must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice to cover a breaking news story. Her day typically starts very early (she arrives at work at 3 a.m.), which means she must make a choice: “Work on less sleep or go to bed early,” she said.

While every story she covers has its own unique set of challenges, Bolduan said the Utah mine collapse was probably the most difficult story she’s covered thus far.

“You want to be able to pass along good information and positive news whenever possible. That was one story when the families of the miners and the rescuers kept getting bad news,” she said.

While Bolduan likes to have as much information as possible prior to going live, sometimes there isn’t a lot of time.

“That’s when the CNN family comes in really handy,” she said. “Everyone is there to make sure we get the information correct.”

Bolduan is always on call, even when she’s sleeping. Her cell phone is with her at all times. As a result, she doesn’t have a lot of time to wind down and relax.

She does, however, make time to watch the Food Network and to exercise.

“You have to get some kind of exercise to get all the pressure of the day off. It is not only a stress-reliever; it’s also a necessity,” she said, explaining that her job requires her to be on her feet for long periods of time.

The nature of her job means that Bolduan isn’t able to return home to Goshen often to visit her parents, Dr. Jeff and Nadine Bolduan.

“Thank goodness for technology,” she said. She is able to talk with her family and friends frequently via e-mail and phone.

Bolduan said she enjoys hearing that people from home saw her on TV.

“People want me to let them know when I am on so they can watch me. It makes it all worth it,” she said.

Marilyn Graber, faculty adviser of The Tomahawk, GHS’s student newspaper, was excited to learn about Bolduan’s success.

“It doesn’t surprise me. Journalism was her passion. It was the area she was always interested in,” she said.

Graber said she always thought Bolduan might end up in TV journalism. She said Bolduan was confident and had done several stage performances while in high school.

“She was very disciplined and worked for her goals,” Graber said.

She added that Bolduan never had a problem going out to get the story and that she worked hard on her writing.

“I am so happy for her,” she said.

Bolduan began her career as a research assistant for House & Garden magazine in 2002. A year later she began an internship with Dateline NBC.

In 2004, she began work as a research assistant for NBC Nightly News and was soon promoted from intern to producer of a highly publicized series called “Dying to Drive.” In 2005 she served as a production assistant for NBC News and MSNBC.