Jordon Otero Sisson ’14

The life of a town reporter is chaotic and unpredictable, but Jordan Otero Sisson has quickly adapted. After earning her bachelor’s in communication arts with a concentration in journalism from Franciscan University, Jordan has been a multimedia town reporter for the Hartford Courant in Connecticut, the oldest continually-published newspaper in the United States. Meeting deadlines while covering town meetings, crimes, local issues, courts, education, and local economics for the Hartford suburbs of Farmington and Simsbury keeps Jordan on her feet.

“Sometimes, a meeting will end at 10:30 p.m., and my deadline will be at 11:00 p.m. I’ll start organizing notes and formatting the story as I’m taking my notes at the meeting so I can quickly turn the story in.”

When she is not covering the events in Farmington and Simsbury, Jordan reports on the pastoral planning initiative for the Archdiocese of Hartford.

“I’m not just another reporter,” says Jordan. “I felt a responsibility to cover the planning initiative because I am a Catholic, and I understand what I’m dealing with.”

Jordan knew she wanted to take on the demanding job of a news reporter since she was in high school. After writing a controversial piece in her school newspaper, Jordan was thrilled to see her story prompting students to think about and form their own opinions on the topic.

“I knew then that I had been bit by the journalism bug,” said Otero. “It is a reporter’s job to gather the information, distill it, then present it to the people so they are informed and can form their own opinions.”

Jordan regularly immerses herself in the community and visits with government officials.

“Someone once told me that I get my paycheck from the paper, but I work for the people,” says Jordan. “At Franciscan, I was taught about the dignity of the human person and the value of people. This has helped me see past stories and get at the heart of the people affected by the story.”

While at Franciscan, Jordan worked for Franciscan’s student newspaper The Troubadour all four years and served as editor-in-chief her senior year. She also did a journalism internship in Washington, D.C.

“My mother was worried that I wouldn’t have as many opportunities at a small Catholic college, but I most definitely left college ready to find a job,” says Jordan. “I am very grateful I went to Franciscan.”