When Jennifer Phillips was a little girl, her parents made her read the newspaper or watch a news broadcast everyday. Her mother would say, "You could walk outside right now and there could be chaos going on and you would never know it." Even though at the time she didn't want to do it, little did she know those early mandatory news sessions would spark her interest in becoming a journalist. Now, she reports everyday for The Ten O'Clock News.

You can also catch her every Saturday night as she features the upstate's most wanted. During high school football season, Jennifer suits up for Friday Night Blitz, and highlights stories behind the sidelines.

She received several awards for education, environmental, sports and investigative reports from the South Carolina Associated Press. Her investigative reports involving the Greenville water system helped a small community get city water after their wells went dry. She's covered everything from the arrest of Olympic Park serial bomber Eric Rudolph, to “American Idol” auditions. She's also been recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a southeast Emmy nomination. She is also a Matrix Award recipient, which honors women in communications in the Greenville community.

Jennifer grew up in Columbia, SC, but began her career at WTOC in Savannah, Georgia as an associate producer. She then surfed her way to the Carolina coast where she was hired as the noon and weekend producer at WPDE in Florence and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She also worked at WINK in Fort Myers, Fla. as a morning producer.

On her days off, you may see Jennifer volunteering in the community or enjoying some of Greenville's new restaurants. She likes to read, swim, shop and loves to watch basketball.

Jennifer says the upstate is like a second home to her because of all the family and friends she has in the area.

Jennifer received a B.A. in mass media arts with a concentration in journalism from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia.

She is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

You may e-mail Jennifer at jennifer.phillips@foxcarolina.com.