The world has been the stage for broadcast journalist Wolf Blitzer, who has covered every

major news story of the past two decades for CNN.

But when he took the stage Friday in Kenmore West High School's auditorium, he related

stories about his days there as a student and a member of the Class of 1966.

Blitzer, who ranks among the school's most accomplished alumni, visited at the invitation

of senior Ben Stilson. Blitzer was asked to speak at June's graduation ceremonies — for

which he isn't available — but he responded that he would be in town Friday to accept

the Distinguished Alumni Award that night at the University at Buffalo, where he received a

bachelor's degree in history in 1970.

His appearance at Kenmore West was before a standing room-only crowd. Abbreviated classes

meant that all students could attend.

"This is the stage [where] when I was a senior or junior, I had a nice supporting role in

"Bye Bye Birdie,' " he recalled. The year before that, he appeared in "The Diary of Anne

Frank."

"Probably what I remember most ... was my years as a really, really bad but enthusiastic

football player for the Blue Devils of Kenmore West," he said.

He's come a long way.

Blitzer, who is host for the Situation Room, a two-hour daily news program on CNN, was in

the guest's seat Friday to answer questions from Emanuel Alfonso and Nico Burgos, students in

Julian Weber's journalism class.

What inspired Blitzer to become a journalist and did Kenmore West influence that decision?

"I didn't really study journalism," Blitzer replied. He didn't work on the high school or

college newspapers, either.

After he completed his master's degree in international relations, Blitzer said, someone

asked him if he would like to be a foreign correspondent. He got a job in Israel with Reuters,

an international news service.

"Within a few days, after seeing what journalists do and learning about it on the job, I

realized I had that bug," he said. "It's been a fabulous, fabulous career."

"You have an opportunity to be in the front row of history," he added.

Those early years in print journalism led to a job with CNN, where he will mark his 20th

anniversary next month.

From that front row, Blitzer reported on Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990; the

dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991; the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United

States; and Barack Obama's election in 2008 as this country's first black president.

Blitzer was asked how his family has been affected by his work.

Assignments have meant time away from his wife and daughter, who understood the nature of

his job, Blitzer said.

However, he said, "As important as your career [is] ... there's nothing more important than

your family, and you have got to work hard to make sure your family always comes first."