Nkechi Nneji ‘07

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As we’ll see over and over, successful people build support networks. Nkechi has an impressive network of people that support and respect her. In turn, she seems to absorb their best qualities. “I think the one thing I really took from my mentors was their joy in their work.”

Someone to Admire “There were certain people at CNN who I knew were just brilliant, especially people in the political unit, who I really admired. John King – a national correspondent – he is again insanely intelligent when it comes to matters of politics. And I always have a soft spot because I got him lost once; he was going to DC to anchor Larry King and I almost put him on the Uptown 1 instead of the Downtown 1. I sent him an email apologizing profusely and he just said, ‘No problem. It was a pleasure meeting you and good luck.’ I was thought, ‘That is a nice man,’ because other people would have eviscerated me. I was completely mortified.

Someone to Watch “Professionally, I would say I have two mentors – one is my first manager, Mark Norman, who I love and absolutely adore. He was one of my idols at CNN. He is insanely bright and understands how things work. I liked to watch him work; it’s just that simple. His wife, Annie, is how I got my job at CNN Special Projects. She’s another wonderful person, absolutely wonderful, she taught me a lot. Very warm people.”

Someone for Support “Another mentor was the executive producer of CNN Special Projects, Kim Bui. She is just the best boss I have ever had.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,

wonderful woman to work for…

I love her to bits.

She is truly someone who wants everyone to succeed for herself and believes that everyone should have the opportunity to try, and to grow, and to learn. I was a PA and I wanted to produce, she gave me that opportunity. Despite all the craziness in her life, she has been there for me and I will never forget it. As long as I live.”

Someone for Advice “Dean Mahoney, Maureen M. Mahoney, was my idol. We used to have meetings once a month; we used to sit and talk. She really supported me. She helped me navigate politics in my various positions. She was someone I could go to for advice, especially towards the end of junior year, she was someone I relied on.”

Someone for Second Opinion “Hannah Durant. We got along well together and she taught me how to correct myself. Whenever I was full of vim and vigor, she would always find a way of diplomatically rephrasing whatever was going to come out of my mouth. I learned from her not to necessarily speak first and not necessarily to speak loudest. It’s sometimes better to wait, to both form an opinion and to voice it. Sometimes it’s more powerful than being on a soapbox all the time.”