Meet Purdue Calumet alumna Felicia Middlebrooks

More than a million Chicagoland area residents wake up each weekday morning to the voice of news anchor and Purdue Calumet alumna Felicia Middlebrooks. The 1982 graduate has co-anchored weekday morning drive time newscasts on Chicago's leading news radio station, WBBM/CBS (780-am), since 1984.

The Gary, Ind. native began her college education at Purdue University's West Lafayette campus. After transferring to Purdue Calumet she went on to earn a bachelor's degree in communication while juggling jobs at a local steel mill and several Northwest Indiana radio stations. She also landed a non-paying internship at WBBM-TV/Channel 2. From intern, she moved into a news desk assistant position at the station. WBBM news radio hired her in 1983 as a part-time anchor/reporter and promoted her less than a year later to her current position.

The veteran journalist has earned awards from such news organizations as: Associated Press, United Press International, Illinois News Broadcasters and the National Association of Black Journalists. Additionally, she received the Purdue Alumni Association-Calumet's 2002 Outstanding Alumni Award. Away from her radio career, Felicia is CEO of Saltshaker Productions with offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. She also is a published author.

As for her Purdue Calumet experience, she said, "It is not so much what I learned at Purdue Calumet as it is the professors and other people who helped build a foundation for me-a foundation of confidence and encouragement. That set me on my way…"