This story is a part of the 2026 Journey to Commencement sequence, which celebrates the pinnacle of the educational yr by highlighting University of Mississippi college students and their excellent educational and private journeys from faculty scholar to faculty graduate.
For Keiran Lencheski, sports activities have at all times been greater than a recreation; they’ve been a lifelong ardour that become goal.
“I’ve always wanted to be in sports, be involved in sports,” the native of Center Valley, Pennsylvania, stated. “I’ve always wanted to go into sports broadcasting. I just have had this passion since I was a kid.”
That ardour led Lencheski, a University of Mississippi journalism graduate who accomplished her diploma in December 2025, to alternatives many younger broadcasters solely dream of, together with working behind the scenes on NBC Sports‘ Olympic protection.
After graduating, Lencheski determined to pursue a grasp’s diploma in journalism at Ole Miss, the place she is constant to construct on a basis formed by hands-on expertise, dedication and a willingness to chase each alternative.
“One of the things about working in sports is you have to be your own gas,” she stated. “You have to look for your own internships just kind of delve into every single website.”
Her persistence paid off when she landed a manufacturing assistant function with NBC Sports, engaged on protection related to the Winter Olympics, a full-circle second that was years in the making.
“There’s actually a video of me when I was a kid, holding a little ESPN toy microphone, announcing the Winter Olympics to my family,” Lencheski stated. “So, it is a total full circle moment.”
At NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, Lencheski labored in the central videotape division, serving to handle incoming feeds, edit footage and guarantee broadcasts reached audiences round the world.
“It was really intimidating at first, coming from college right into the work world, and the largest sporting event in the world,” she stated. “But it was amazing. It was a very rewarding experience. I loved every single second of it.”
The expertise got here with its challenges, together with in a single day shifts and lengthy hours, however Lencheski embraced each second.
“The hours are definitely the hardest part, but I would do it all over again in a second,” she stated.
Lencheski stood out from the begin, stated Ryan Burke, senior producer at NBC Sports.
“Kiki’s name was one of the ones that definitely jumped off the page, with everything that she’s done and her sports background,” Burke stated. “The fact that she was able to get this experience as a student was invaluable, and we were happy to have her.”
The Ole Miss graduate rapidly tailored to the fast-paced, high-pressure atmosphere of Olympic manufacturing, he stated.
“I was really impressed by just how she was able to figure it out very quickly,” Burke stated. “By day two or three, it felt like she’d been in the building already three or four months.”
While her Olympic expertise marked a serious milestone, Lencheski credit Ole Miss for making ready her to succeed at that stage. She discovered her footing early by means of NewsWatch Ole Miss, the place she started creating her on-camera presence and storytelling abilities.
“NewsWatch definitely helped me get my foot in the door and helped me get started,” she stated.
Lencheski additionally broke new floor as the program’s first feminine sports activities reporter, a job she says makes it particularly significant to see others observe in her footsteps.
“I was very fortunate I was the first female sports reporter there, and to see all the younger women come through now … it’s really rewarding,” she stated.
Mentorship additionally performed a key function in her journey, significantly by means of school and business professionals who pushed her to develop, together with David Kellum.
“He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes,” Lencheski stated of her mentor. “You have to do the work and that’s what I love about him.”
Lencheski’s drive stood out from the very starting, stated Kellum, particular assistant to the athletics director for public relations at the Ole Miss Department of Athletics and the play-by-play voice of Rebel soccer.
“My first interplay together with her was as a real freshman, doing a basketball recreation,” Kellum said. “She came visiting and stood behind us till we have been finished, like half-hour after the post-game present, to introduce herself. She stated she was attempting to meet as many individuals as she might.
“I thought that was incredible initiative as a freshman. She was nervous, but I was super impressed and continued to invest in her as a student and her career.”
Kellum stated that initiative rapidly become alternative.
“We eventually hired her to be a Grove Reporter, and she would go to tents and interview people as a segment in the pregame show,” he stated. “She was fantastic. She took it and ran with it.”
He added that her character and dedication set her aside.
“She’s been a variety of enjoyable to be round,” Kellum said. “She has an ideal character, and my favourite reminiscence shall be her dynamic character. She has the intent to achieve success.
“She has turned her life into something positive, and I can’t wait to see what her career ends up being.”
From day one, Lencheski stated Ole Miss stood out as a spot the place she might develop, each professionally and personally.
“I wanted to not be a number but I wanted to be a person,” she stated. “Ole Miss has welcomed me with open arms it really was the best four years of my life.”
The faculty’s emphasis on hands-on studying, entry and group helped form her confidence and talent set, from reporting and modifying to producing full broadcast packages.
“Every little bit has helped me to where I’m at today,” she stated.
Looking forward, Lencheski stays centered on utilizing sports activities as a approach to convey individuals collectively by means of storytelling.
“I truly believe that everybody has a story,” she stated. “And if there’s a way to share the athlete’s story that could someday connect with somebody else’s story… that’s really where the heart is at.”
Top: Keiran Lencheski, a journalism graduate and grasp’s scholar from Center Valley, Pennsylvania, turned a lifelong ardour for sports activities broadcasting right into a manufacturing assistant function with NBC Sports’ Olympic protection after turning into NewsWatch Ole Miss’s first feminine sports activities reporter and constructing a repute for initiative and storytelling at Ole Miss. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
See more photos from Keiran Lencheski’s Journey to Commencement