Jacqueline Matter has been a witness to recent history as a television news reporter and anchor:

• A mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
• Collapses of a condominium high-rise near Miami and the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore
• Contentious political campaigns and elections

Wake Tech made it all possible, Matter says now, although it didn't start out that way.

After moving from California, she enrolled at Wake Tech simply to establish residency in North Carolina and qualify for in-state tuition at her dream school, UNC-Chapel Hill. She already had her career planned out: study political science at UNC, go to law school and become a lawyer.

But a summer job at a law firm convinced her that was the wrong path, leaving her confused and out of options. Then, a Wake Tech advisor for C-STEP, a guaranteed admission program between North Carolina community colleges and UNC-Chapel Hill, suggested she consider journalism because of her people skills, inquisitive nature and calm demeanor.

"I would see all these people on TV, but I never really thought that was something I could do as a career," Matter said.

She quickly proved herself wrong.

Within a decade of earning an associate degree from Wake Tech and a journalism degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, she has gone from working as a reporter and morning anchor at a CBS affiliate in eastern North Carolina to evening anchor and host of a political talk show at the ABC affiliate in Tampa, Fla., to morning anchor at the Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C., the eighth-largest television market in the U.S., where she's worked since 2021.

"I really love D.C.," she said. "I've always been interested in political science, and you're often part of history here."

For example, Matter covered President Donald Trump's second inauguration. Although she calls that a "bucket-list event" for a journalist, she says it's not her biggest story.

As the daughter of an Army veteran, she says, her role in getting a Korean War veteran the combat medals he deserved was extremely gratifying. After she reported about the man's case, she pursued the matter with the Secretary of the Navy's office until the medals were awarded.

"I felt a responsibility to him," she said. "I was worried he would die before he received what was rightfully his."

Such dedication is typical for Matter, according to Jo Anne Clayton, a retired Sociology professor at Wake Tech. The two have been friends ever since Matter was a student in Clayton's classes.

"She's just a good, good person," Clayton said. "She gets along with everyone, treats everyone the same."

Matter calls Clayton her favorite teacher, saying her classes, one of which included a trip to Central Prison in Raleigh, were "eye-opening." When Matter emceed the 2025 North Carolina Community Colleges Awards Dinner and Celebration, Clayton was her plus-one.

Matter says she was honored to host the annual event, saying community colleges deserve more recognition for how they improve people's lives.

"A lot of people have the mentality, 'You couldn't get into a university," if you attend a community college. They're looked down upon," she said. "Wake Tech laid the foundation for my future, and I know that's true for many others."

For Matter, it started as simply as taking core classes she would need at UNC-Chapel Hill while avoiding out-of-state tuition at the university. But she found that Wake Tech's small classes provided a lot of one-on-one interaction with teachers, and free tutoring at what's now the Tutoring and Learning Center helped her prepare for exams.

"Wake Tech's variety of programs gives you the chance to dabble in different things to see what you like and what you don't like," she added.

But Matter says the best part about her Wake Tech experience was the community of learners at the college, noting that she's still friends with many of her fellow students.

"People came from different backgrounds. You're really exposed to a lot of different experiences," she said. "I was on campus all day, even when I didn't have classes, because I enjoyed it so much."