In a twist that seems quite fitting, a Western New Yorker has won the first fellowship set up to honor longtime “Meet the Press” moderator and Buffalo native Tim Russert.

North Tonawanda’s Andrew Rafferty, a 2009 John Carroll University graduate, recently learned that he is the first NBC/John Carroll University “Meet the Press” fellow. That designation means that he will spend nine months at NBC’s Washington, D.C., bureau working behind the scenes on the Sunday morning political commentary show.

Having graduated from college in May with a communications degree, Rafferty has pursued a journalism career since his high school days. The 2005 St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute graduate first got a taste for news-gathering during a journalism class he took his junior year — a course that, he said, he only took because his top option for an elective that year was full.

“It worked out because on the first day we were in that class, our teacher ... he told us about what we would be doing ... and he broke down just how important journalism is and the power the job holds,” Rafferty said.

Marcus Deveso, Rafferty’s high school journalism teacher who also served as adviser to the school paper that Rafferty ended up editing, Student Prints, gave the credit to his former student.

“He was always a really smart kid,” Deveso said. “He and four friends ended up taking the class. Before they took control, we were basically making copies (of the newspaper) on the photocopier. By the time they graduated, we were printing on newsprint. They really took it and went with it.”

Rafferty went on to work at the school paper at John Carroll, The Carroll News, where adviser Bob Noll quickly saw Rafferty’s motivation and nose for news. Noll cited Rafferty’s high journalistic standards and tough but fair approach with his reporters when asked about Rafferty’s strong points.

“Andrew has a passion for journalism and politics,” Noll said in an e-mail. “He’s also a very dedicated, hard-working and a highly disciplined young journalist. He really took his job as editor-in-chief very seriously.”

Rafferty began his senior year in August 2008 with the future still wide open — “I was prepared to graduate and then worry about the next step. I really had no idea what I was going to do next,” he said.

During his senior year, though, he learned about the fellowship, which was set up to honor Russert, a member of the Cleveland university’s class of 1972 who passed away in June 2008 from heart problems. The fellowship is open to graduating John Carroll students receiving a degree in either communications (with a concentration in journalism) or political science and who have at least a 3.5 grade-point average in their major, said Tonya Strong-Charles, the school’s director of media relations.

A committee of staff members from the college made Rafferty one of three finalists for the position, and he and two other graduates interviewed with NBC in July for the position.

Having learned about winning the fellowship earlier this month, Rafferty is still looking for housing in the nation’s capital. He hopes to begin the fellowship in September and expects to do researching, fact-checking and production work for “Meet the Press” while making numerous contacts and making his resume stand out far more than most recent college graduates.

“I knew this would be a great experience for me to network and to work underneath these folks. I’m going in there not having too many expectations as far as what I will be doing, but I know that it’s the type of experience where I’m going to get out of it what I’m going to put into it,” he said. “This is way better than some of my friends who are going into grad school or taking a job ... just to have a job. I’m very lucky that such a great opportunity came along.”

Rafferty’s former mentor in college thinks his ex-student will bring something to NBC’s table, as well.

“He’s a great young man with true leadership abilities,” Noll said. “He also works very well with people. He has not only a passion for journalism, but he is also willing to work as hard as he can to learn and get better.”

Although he said he’s received the question numerous times, Rafferty said he has yet to consider his next career move after the fellowship ends. He only knows that he wants to continue working in journalism, either on television or in print.

For Rafferty to follow in the footsteps of Russert — whom Rafferty cited as a source of inspiration — seems appropriate, Noll said.