It was 2002 when Natalie Morales got her first break in the big league — as an anchor for MSNBC. The first afternoon she was set to go on air, a story about peace talks broke in the Middle East. Her producer told her to throw away the script, and Morales spent the next hour reporting breaking news.

Morales, now an anchor on NBC’s Today Show and this year’s Jessica Savitch distinguished journalism speaker, said a big part of what got her through that first day was a good support system — including her producer.

“Find the people who will prop you up when you’re beaten down,” she said. “Find those people who are going to put their arms around you when everybody else is criticizing you and say, ‘You’re doing just great.’”

Morales, the first female distinguished speaker in the series since 2005, spent 45 minutes in the Roy H. Park School of Communications auditorium walking a packed-beyond-capacity crowd through her career. The annual lecture series was created by the Savitch family in honor of Jessica Savitch ’68, a pioneering force for women in broadcast journalism in the 1970s.

During her career, Savitch was a NBC Saturday edition anchor, delivered prime-time updates for NBC during the week and hosted PBS’ “Frontline” before she was killed in a car accident in 1983. This is the program’s 16th year.

Morales, who said she lamented never getting the opportunity to meet Savitch, discussed with the audience the unusual career moves she made — such as working in finance for two years before joining Court TV.

“I took a little detour for two years,” Savitch said. “But I didn’t lose sight of what it was that I really wanted to do.”

Beyond her personal career, Morales stressed the importance of remembering those who paved the way — like Savitch — and the hard work required to achieve a dream job.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say you can have it all, because you can’t,” she said.

Morales ended the night fielding questions from the audience. While a few questions pertained to current events and issues in the media, most centered around Morales’ career, her take on the journalism field today, and how she balances her personal and professional life.

“What defines you is how much respect you have for yourself, how much respect your family has for you and how much you respect what it is that you do,” she said.