Kimberly Krejcarek named 2025 Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient

Whether she's performing violin concerts for seniors, mentoring radio TV film students at UW-Oshkosh or organizing community events through WLUK-TV Fox 11, Kimberly Krejcarek, '10, has built her life around lifting others up. For her professional success and deep devotion to service, the 2010 UWO graduate has been honored with a 2025 Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

For Krejcarek, UW-Oshkosh has been more than a place where she earned a degree in radio TV film. It has remained, in her words, her "happy place."

"With my whole heart I can say that I actually get giddy when I return to campus," she said. "The connections with people I have made during my time here, and the ongoing connections with professors and current students literally fills my life with joy."

Krejcarek's student years were filled with leadership and service. At Titan TV she served as news director, anchor and reporter, helping expand the station's reach from one to four community channels. She hosted shows and coordinated jazz programming for WRST-FM, executive produced the female talk show The Scoop and served as alumni relations director for the National Broadcasting Society.

She also was involved in the A-T Telethon, Relay for Life, the Newman Center and women's tennis team. In 2010, she capped her undergraduate career by receiving the Chancellor's Award for Excellence, one of the highest honors given to UWO students.

Drawing on lessons learned at UWO

"The hands-on experiences I had as a student took my learning beyond the textbook to real-world applications I use to this day," she said. "While the technology continues to change and evolve, UWO laid the foundation for this learning and made sure I had the blueprint to grow in my profession."

Soon after graduation, Krejcarek, of Green Bay, was hired at WLUK-TV as a part-time weekend news writer and video editor. Within a month, she was offered the same position full-time. She went on to spend three years in the newsroom, where she wrote stories, edited video and worked the assignment desk. In 2013 she transitioned into the marketing department as a creative services producer, producing daily promos and specialty programming while managing station contests and outreach campaigns.

Her career took another leap forward when she was promoted to director of community relations. In that role, she oversaw events such as Best of the Classand the Golden Apple Awards. Under her leadership, Best of the Class quadrupled its participation and attendance, and the Golden Apple Awards doubled its audience reach.

She also co-sponsored hundreds of community events, ensuring the station's presence was felt throughout Northeast Wisconsin. In 2025 she advanced again, this time to special projects coordinator for events and long-form programming for Sinclair Broadcast Group, WLUK's parent company.

Krejcarek's connection to the university didn't end at graduation. Over the years she has returned often to share her expertise, speaking in classrooms, serving on alumni panels, and mentoring students who aspire to careers in broadcasting.

"While titles and awards are fantastic," she said, "it's those pivotal relationships that have made me into the person I am today-relationships that I strive to pass on to my fellow Titans as we seek to do good and be good in this world."

Krejcarek tells students that her original goal was to become a lead anchor at a national television network right out of college. Instead, she began her career in a part-time weekend position at WLUK, a role far from her dream but one she treated as an opportunity. Over time, she discovered that her career path was leading her to places she hadn't envisioned but deeply valued.

"Through this journey, I've learned I no longer want to leave for a national TV network," she said, adding that she tells students to "enjoy the dream, but enjoy the process too because it might take you places better than you expected."

WLUK-TV Vice President and General Manager Jay Zollar praised her professionalism and steady contributions.

"Kimberly is a highly motivated individual with a proven ability to organize events, serve the community, cooperate with other colleagues as well as the public and do so with a terrific attitude and high integrity," he said. "She is talented, dedicated and willing to serve in any capacity asked of her."

Her instructors at UWO recall those same traits in her as a student. Justine Stokes, Titan TV general manager and RTF instructor, said Krejcarek was one of the first students she's taught.

"She made an immediate and long-lasting impression," Stokes said. "It has been a pleasure to follow her career and see her represent the university and radio TV film program in such a positive way."

Service has been at the heart of Krejcarek's journey. For more than a decade, she has performed free weekly violin concerts at 16 assisted living, dementia and hospice facilities in the Green Bay area. Her community service extends far beyond music. She volunteers with a special education weekend program, serves on its board of directors, assists at St. Vincent de Paul, visits homebound parishioners and leads as president of the parish council at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

"Volunteering and making a difference for others is the highest honor to me," she said. "It is truly a reflection of who I am."

Stokes is quick to point out that Krejcarek's impact goes beyond her career accomplishments.

"Both professionally and personally, Kimberly has made a long-lasting impact to both the campus community and Northeast Wisconsin," Stokes said. "She embodies the values and spirit of UWO."

Today, Krejcarek is continuing her education at UW-Oshkosh, pursuing an MBA while balancing coursework with a demanding career and her many service commitments. A first-generation college student, she said her undergraduate years at UWO left such a lasting impression that she once joked about wanting to prolong graduation. She began the MBA program in fall 2024 with support from her employer.

"When researching reputable colleges and universities, my heart kept coming back to UWO," she said.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will celebrate the talents and successes of 11 alumni Oct. 17-18 during Homecoming 2025. Kimberly Krejcarek is among five top graduates to be honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for their professional and civic accomplishments within 15 years of receiving their degrees, five alumni will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award for their accomplishments in their professional fields; and one will receive the Alumni Outstanding Service Award for making exemplary contributions to support UWO through volunteer efforts, energy, leadership and/or philanthropic donations.

The 2025 Alumni Awards Celebration will be held Friday, Oct. 17 at the Culver Family Welcome Center, with a reception at 5 p.m. followed by the dinner and program beginning at 6 p.m. Cost of the event is $40 per person. More information is available by contacting UWO Alumni Relations at (920) 424-3449, or [email protected]

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