By Elena Baurkot, Bloc Reporter 

University of Maryland sports reporter Johnny Holliday recalled his career highlights to students on Feb. 17 at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

“I always felt, deep down inside, that I could do anything,” Holliday said.

He encouraged the audience to have that faith in themselves.

“If you really honestly think you can do it, not maybe, then you can,” he said.

Holliday’s career in broadcast started as a practical joke; a friend of Holliday’s secretly entered him into a disc jockey competition, which he lost.

The following summer, Holliday’s grandfather introduced him to a friend in broadcast.

His grandfather’s friend offered him a job at his station and Holliday accepted.

At his first Olympics in 1984, Holliday discovered he would be reporting on ice hockey and women’s figure skating, two sports he knew nothing about.

He studied the terminology of the sports and, with help from co-reporters, covered the events.

On multiple occasions, Holliday accepted jobs in areas he had no prior experience because he knew he could do it.

Senior broadcast journalism major Max Grossfeld said he received important advice from Holliday’s talk: never turn down an assignment.

“Sometimes I might not feel comfortable with something, but I should still try it because if I don’t do it, somebody else will,” Grossfeld said.

Holliday attributed making it where he is today without a college education to his belief in himself and his ability to take every opportunity he was offered.

“If it can happen to me, it can happen to you,” Holliday said.