Elizabeth Teeter, a 29-year-old Brownsburg native, spent the last year building a telecommunications center for the hockey games in Salt Lake City.

"My job is to make sure the equipment for the media works so they can report on the games without a hitch," Teeter said. "It makes for some really tough and long days, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything,"

"I feel very lucky just to be here," she said. "Not everyone gets to work at the Winter Olympics and see the best athletes in the world."

Teeter moved to Salt Lake City last year after working in the telecommunications industry in Columbus, Ohio, Philadelphia and Denver.

She began a one-year stint in March 2001 as venue telecommunications manager for the E Center, 8,500-seat venue where many of the men's and women's games will be played.

Accredited media attending the games include reporters from just about every major newspaper and wire service in the world plus television networks in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Korea, Latin America, South America and Africa.

"I anticipate some language problems with all the different countries participating, but we have specialists to help out just in case," she said.

Teeter attributes her ability to build the facility from

the ground up to her experiences at Ball State. She earned a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1994 and a master's in communication and information sciences in 1995.

"When I was an undergrad, I really wanted to work in broadcasting," Teeter said. "But in graduate school I began to look more into managing communications. This is a natural fit."

Jim Needham, a telecommunications professor, said Teeter was a tireless worker as an undergraduate.

"Eight years ago Elizabeth was a student in my class studying social responsibility and now she gets to live it," Needham said. "She was a good student and very responsible. She was a hard worker and deserves her success."

Ray Steele, director of Ball State's Center for Information and Communication Sciences, was similarly impressed.

"She was sharp and very aggressive," he said. "Elizabeth was one of our most successful graduate students. She was always in the middle of every project, never taking a backseat to anyone."

Teeter wraps up her Salt Lake assignment in late March after the conclusion of the Paralympics, an international competition featuring physically challenged athletes from around the world.

"When this is all over, I want to see my mom and dad, who live in Carmel, and maybe take a mini-vacation to Europe," she said. "I am really looking forward to a long nap. When I wake up, then I'll start looking for another job."

By Marc Ransford, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Teeter at elizabeth_teeter@hotmail.com or (801) 212-3916.)