WEBVTT - Dylan Dreyer 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.320 You introduce yourself by a sentence, and then I give 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:05.800 you a formal introduction, but the sentence is your version 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:10.000 whatever you want to say of Hi, my name is Dylan. 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:13.560 My name is Katherine Tappman. I can't. I forgot to 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:19.400 even bring that up, that I meet Dylan. She gets 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:22.840 invited to a dinner, and then we sit down at dinner, 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:26.480 and I think three to four times I call you Katherine. 0:00:28.280 --> 0:00:30.720 I did it multiple times when we sat down at 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.479 this like twenty person dinner and you were across So 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.879 it wasn't even just like turning to you and saying it. 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:39.720 It was me shouting at across the table, how is 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.600 your food? Katherine? Yeah, you're You know, you don't always 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.120 have to say somebody's name in a conversation, but you 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:51.080 were like flippantly just saying Katherine or tapping I know, 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.160 and I that's not even something that I do. But 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:56.840 here I am calling you by your name when I 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:58.840 don't even need to it. And then it wasn't your name, 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:10.400 confidence Okay, Hi, my name is Catherine's happened? And I blank, Okay, 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:19.440 here we go, Hi, everybody. I'm Dylan Dryer, a brave 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:22.720 meteorologist who likes to stand outside and hurricanes. Also the 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:30.640 co host of the third hour of Today. Hello everybody, 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:35.360 and welcome back to Off the Beat with Me your host, 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:39.600 Brian Baumgartner. I am so happy that you're here today. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:42.920 You guys are gonna love this episode, and I mean 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:48.400 love it because well, yes, that's right. Today we are 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:54.440 celebrating Valentine's Day on Off the Beat. Now, Valentine's Day, 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:59.000 it's not just about romance, No, it is very specifically 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.320 about eating can the hearts, making new friends, and and 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:04.800 telling them that you love them. So I am so 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:08.200 excited to have my new bestie on the podcast today, 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:14.480 NBC's very own Dylan Dryer. You might recognize Dylan from 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:18.800 her work on well pretty much every NBC news show. 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:24.040 She's worked on, MSNBC Today's Show, Weekend, Today, Today's Third Hour, 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:28.400 nightly News, and she hosts her very own TV series 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:32.120 Earth Odyssey. This is what I love about this podcast. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:37.280 It enables me to really talk and get to know 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:41.359 so many new people. I had just met Dylan at 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:45.840 the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions golf tournament down 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:49.280 in Orlando, Florida. If you look at my Instagram, you 0:02:49.280 --> 0:02:54.040 will see she she gave an excellent weather report exclusive 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.760 content for me. We got to know each other and 0:02:56.800 --> 0:03:03.440 we bonded almost immediately, and I found her so fascinating 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:10.079 the combination of entertainment and of real science meteorology. For 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.200 some reason, I never put those two things together. It 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.040 was a fascinating talk we had there. I wanted to 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:18.400 bring her on the podcast to dive in more. I 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:23.200 promise you are going to learn something today and learn 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:28.639 that you love Dylan Dryer. This was such a fun conversation. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:34.160 We get into everything from reporting natural disasters to even 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:38.480 her love story with her former cameraman. I'm so excited 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:46.280 for you to hear this. Let's get to it, Dylan Dryer. Everyone, 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:54.320 Bubble and Squeak. I love Bubble and Squeak on Bubble 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:58.200 and Squeaker cooking at every month, left over from the 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:15.560 nut before. Hello, Hello, how are you? Dylan dry Now, 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.599 let me ask you this, is it contractual that you 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:23.880 have to have the peacock in the background there? I know, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:26.560 I just think it's actually really cool. It's like my 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:30.520 own little piece of stained glass art. Well yeah, but 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.799 it's like literally right over your shoulder. So the entire 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.840 time I get to stare at the NBC peacock. Was 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:38.880 that going to be that? Or it was gonna be this? 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:43.120 So I thought this was a little much missing the cloud. 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:47.880 I think both. There's your husband, Brian, the most supportive 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:54.039 guy on the golf course. That is an understatement. Um 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:58.599 Dylan Dryer, co host third Hour of the Today Show 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:04.560 and NBC News meteorologist. Y I like having a full title. 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:06.600 I want to get into that in a little bit, 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:10.960 but I want to start going backwards to your your childhood. 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.320 Now let me say this part. Well, one reason I 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.160 wanted to have you on is is you're awesome. But 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:21.240 also I don't learn things that much anymore, and you 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:26.280 learned me things when we were together there in Orlando. 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:28.840 Well we'll get into that in a minute. But you 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:37.920 grew up in Jersey. Yeah, in Manti Lapping its pronounced Manalpate. 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:43.600 Why correct me this early? There's be many more mistakes 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:49.680 like that. You sounded silly. Yeah, that sounds way better. Well, 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:51.719 let me ask you this. What were you interested in 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:57.159 as a kid? Yeah, like sports or or are I was? 0:05:57.240 --> 0:05:59.159 I mean, I grew up with two older brothers, so 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.039 I was into sit in doing anything they were doing. 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.040 You know, I was like the little sister who just 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.000 wanted to you know, bother them all the time. But 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.400 they were big ato baseball. I played softball since I 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.520 was five years old. I remember starting on an all 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:16.040 boys league because there were no girls playing for some reason. 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.760 I remember just having all boys on my team. Um, 0:06:18.800 --> 0:06:20.840 but not really thinking anything of it because I grew 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.440 up with brothers, you know, I never never thought anything 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.159 other than I want to play t ball, so this 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.479 is where I'm going to play t ball. Um. So 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.599 I was, you know, definitely grew up more as a tomboy. 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:35.039 You know. My my dad built the house we grew 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:36.800 up in. It was in the middle of the woods. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:38.599 Like when you think of New Jersey, you think of 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:42.320 just outside New York City, you know, but we we 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.720 grew up on like four acres of property in the 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.600 middle of nowhere, on the side of town. Nobody lived. 0:06:47.960 --> 0:06:50.000 It was my brothers and me. There was an apple 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:52.640 orchard across the street. We would go and steal apples, 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.480 you know, and it was just it was like this 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:59.760 weird country lifestyle that I grew up in. Was that 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.000 out is that New Yar Pennsylvania? No, it's right like 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:05.600 literally right in the middle of New Jersey. It was 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.960 an hour from New York, in an hour from Philly. Okay, 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:12.560 So were you interested at all in performing? Like, did 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:15.040 you do any play? No, because you have brothers and 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:19.880 you did brother things and picked apples on the weekend basically, 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:22.160 And I'm not a performer, you know. I wasn't that 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:25.320 kid where you know, your aunts and uncles would be like, Oh, 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:27.760 she's gonna be you know, she's she's going to do 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:31.360 something in the spotlight. I mean, I'm I'm shy by nature. 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:34.559 I'm kind of reserved. I'm not the kind of person 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.080 who runs into a room and look at me, you know, 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.680 a type of personality I sort of. I like being 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.080 a wallflower until I get comfortable, until I you know, 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:44.320 pick out the people I can kind of jive with. 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.040 And so I mean, it really is bizarre. And my 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.080 mom and dad still think it's weird that I do 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.880 anything in TV because it's just so like Auntie, who 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:57.560 I was growing up? Right, Were you interested in science? Yes? 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.320 I was interested in science. Um, I actually we went 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:03.600 to school for engineering. I loved math. I love science. 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.360 Records had a great engineering program, so it seemed like 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:08.560 that's what you do when you like math and science. 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.440 But engineering just didn't. There was no field of engineering 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:14.560 that I really liked. I just didn't enjoy it. I 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:17.200 didn't see myself doing it in the future. And there 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.440 was like a meteorology one on one class. I'm like, oh, mom, 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.000 this sounds fun. Let me try this. And it turns 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.720 out all my math credits and science credits transferred over 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.200 to meteorology, and I sort of just fell into it 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:33.839 that way. There's a lot of math and science and meteorology. Yes, yeah, 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:38.040 I mean, computers do it all now, but I, because 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.520 of my education, know what the computers are doing. But 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:44.200 I'll never have to actually use that again. Right now, 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.520 does one become a meteorologist? I mean I guess they do, right. 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:50.800 There are meteorologists who are not on television right Oh 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:53.880 yeah no, And I was actually not. Again, I'm not 0:08:54.400 --> 0:08:55.960 someone who likes to be in the spotlight. So I 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.800 was never going to do TV weather. That was I 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:01.800 was going to do research or forensic meteorology. You know, 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:05.080 you work for a law firm, and you know somebody 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:07.959 says there was a I slipped on ice. It's like, well, 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:09.679 let me go back and look to see if there 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.600 was actually ice that day or conditions were favorable for ice, 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.520 you know, in the exact location where you're saying you slipped. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:19.280 I was thinking National Weather Service or you know, private 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:24.600 forecasting companies who work for you know, PLoud truck drivers 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:26.880 and landscapers and all that kind of stuff. So it 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.600 wasn't until I had an internship at CBS w CBS, 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:34.160 the local CBS in New York, and then I was like, oh, 0:09:34.200 --> 0:09:35.720 this is kind of fun. So you get to like 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:37.800 do all the science and look at the maps and 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:40.480 do your do all your homework, and then you actually 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:42.679 get to talk to people about it. So it just 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.280 seemed like something that was going to be fun. What 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.280 was it about meteorology that you like just that it 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:51.440 allowed you to apply a lot of your skills or 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:56.080 was there something specifically about about the weather. Um. I 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.480 just think it's really fascinating. I love how it works. 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:01.800 I love you know. I talked to a lot of 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:05.080 kids about weather, and I just because they're so fascinated. 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:09.040 They just are in awe if it's snowing, or you know, 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.400 you go play outside because it's sunny and it's warm. 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.920 I can literally answer any question they have about the weather, 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.480 and I love I love being able to do that. 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:20.760 It's just the science of how weather develops and why 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:24.320 there are clouds and thunderstorms and hurricanes. I just it 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:26.600 just makes so much sense in my brain, and I 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:28.880 like being able to talk about it, and especially in this, 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:32.680 you know type of role where I worked in local news. Yes, 0:10:32.720 --> 0:10:35.679 I can make a forecast, and I actually make pretty 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:38.280 good forecasts, you know. I like looking at the computer 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.040 models and being able to tell people exactly when it's 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:42.560 going to rain or when it's gonna do what it's 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.679 gonna do. But I also get to explain what can 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:49.040 be a complicated science in a way people can understand. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:52.760 I like to use analogies. I like to use everyday 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:57.040 objects to as props to to explain why things are happening, 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:59.920 to just sort of make it more fun and understandable 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.520 for everybody. Like when you asked me in in Florida 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:06.240 for a forecast, right, yes, I was actually like the 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.480 next day, really proud of my forecast. I mean, I said, 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.120 it's not going to rain till like three o'clock, and 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:14.600 it's sprinkled right at three o'clock, and was kind of 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.720 cloudy and looking like rain all day, and I'm like 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:19.800 hitting Brian, my husband, you know, I'm like, my forecast 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.360 was spot off, Like I was really proud of myself. 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:26.880 Well that's the thing I actually think. How do I 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:29.680 say this in a way that well, there is no 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.200 really way to say it except you guys have done 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:36.000 such a great job of dumbing it down and simplifying 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:39.079 it for people that I don't think people understand how 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:44.800 complicated it is. Like you have done meteorology a disservice 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:48.760 by making it seem like you look up at the 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.520 clouds and you're like, Okay, this is what's going to happen. 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:54.640 I mean, I don't know if this is the right 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.679 time to do it, but this, to me, this this 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.360 is what you learned me for sure. When you see 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:04.280 some uh weather forecast on whatever weather dot com or 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:08.000 whatever NBC Internet set you're on, and it gives you 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:13.960 a percentage of rain at two o'clock for tomorrow, what 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:16.960 does that mean? If you look at your iPhone app 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:18.920 and you pull up right now, if it's a thirty 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:23.240 percent chance of rain in your area, chances are you're 0:12:23.280 --> 0:12:25.960 in the clear, Like your se in the clear. That 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:29.600 it's not going to rain, but in your general area, 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:34.040 there's a thirty percent chance that somebody in your general 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:36.720 area is going to see rain. Okay, So let me 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.880 give you an example. So earlier this week, it's snowed 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:44.199 in New York City. Okay, it was snowing down in 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:46.400 Battery Park, like at the southern tip of New York. 0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:48.240 I was in Midtown at the time. It was not 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:52.520 snowing in Midtown. So I would say, like a thirty 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:56.880 percent chance of snow was pretty accurate for Manhattan. Okay, 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.200 I didn't get it. Probably would have hedged my best 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:01.000 that I'm not going to see snow anyway. But you 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.839 go downtown and it's snowed. It's like, all right, well 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:05.920 they did say a thirty percent chance of snow, and 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:10.079 you know it did snow in Manhattan. I'm with you, 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:13.319 are this is how this is how I heard it. 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:16.720 I think that the way a lay person looks at 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.440 it is like there's a thirty percent chance it's going 0:13:20.480 --> 0:13:24.640 to rain, and so there's yeah, there's a greater percentage 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:26.680 that it's not going to rain. But I think what 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:28.839 was interesting to me about what you said is like 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:32.560 they have them it is going to rain. It may 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.680 not rain where you're standing at that time, but it's 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:42.600 going to rain exactly in the summertime, like you have 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.959 pop up thunderstorms, you know, and and literally it could 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.439 be raining in one town, in the next town over 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.640 it's not raining. So if it's a thirty percent chance 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:53.480 of rain and I go play a round of golf, 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:56.120 I'm going to assume it's not going to rain. There 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.200 will be rain around, but I'm going to assume I'll 0:13:58.200 --> 0:13:59.960 be in the clear. But if it does rain, it's 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.400 I I guess I just kind of got screwed on 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:05.160 that one. So you know, it ended up reading where 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:10.280 I am. Um, So you intern at CBS in New 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.760 York and you start thinking, oh, this is something that 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:17.480 I could do, Like this is a specific way that 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:20.400 I could use my meteorology degree. By the way, that's 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.440 a really hard word to say. I said that before. 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:26.480 It's hard to type out to it is because a 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:32.680 lot of ohs um, Now did you then begin pursuing that. Well, 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.280 you first off, you you graduate, you get a degree. 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:38.680 Is this a hard major? No, it's a tough major. 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:41.160 I mean, like you take four years of calculus. I 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:45.240 mean it's it's intense. Yeah, No, it's it's a legit, 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.840 like Bachelor of Science degree. And again I went to Rutgers. 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.320 So Rutgers, you know, you could go to some schools 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.920 that have a broadcast meteorology degree, which then you get to, 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.120 you know, work on your broadcasting skills. I but Rutgers 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.400 was very research based, you know, it's it's kind of 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:06.000 a research school. So for me, I like, mine's like legit, 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:12.640 hardcore like research meteorology. Did you have any broadcast meteorology classes. No, 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:14.280 not at all. You had to apply to the School 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:16.840 of Communications if you wanted to do anything in broadcast, 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:20.640 which just seemed like a lot of work. So I 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:25.040 had no TV skill, no public speaking skills, like literally, 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.920 and I'm shy, like I had no reason to go 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.320 into TV whatsoever. Right, So then what happens. You go 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:33.440 to CBS and you think, well, this is kind of interesting, 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:35.600 and then what do you do? Do you take classes? 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.280 Do you know? So? Um? So I was working with 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.960 Craig Allen over there, who you know is a well 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:45.800 known meteorologist in New York and he was famous, Yes, 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:51.000 in New York. He knew somebody who went to the 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:53.880 local news station in all the New York and he said, listen, 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.240 they'll let you use their studio to make a demo tape. 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:00.280 So I remember driving out there with my mom picking 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:03.960 out like the perfect outfit, which looking back, I mean 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.560 it was a black turtleneck with a purple suede blazer 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.520 um and a big chunky necklace, you know. I mean, 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.680 like that's a good look. That's gonna get me the job. 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:17.640 So I go out there and I'm nervous, you know, 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.080 I tend to get nervous before everything I do. And 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.160 I go out there and they give me the studio, 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.880 the green screen and all that, and I start, I 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.720 start trying to talk, and I can't, like the words. 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.040 I can't even make up a sentence. It's like I've 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:36.360 never spoken words before. I just get such stage fright. 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.960 And there's people around, and this guy who I don't know, 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.120 who's letting me use the studio is kind of standing 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.200 off to the side trying to like give me pointers. 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:47.480 My Mom's no help, and it literally takes till their 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.360 six pm news is coming on, but they're like you 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.920 have to go, like I hope you have something you 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:56.280 can use. And I had to go, and I just 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.800 cried all the way home because I said, I just 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:01.520 I ruined this chance to make this demo tape. But 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.920 sure enough it was on a VHS tape. I put 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.520 it in like these yellow, little you know, VHS boxes, 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:11.520 and I shipped them to sixties seventy little small markets 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:17.159 all across the country. Never heard back from anyone until Lincoln, Nebraska. 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:19.959 The ABC station in Lincoln, Nebraska called. They said, why 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:21.920 don't you come out, you know, and do a demo 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.879 in person. So I go out and I do the demo. 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:28.680 But the other guy who's also applying for this job 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:31.880 happens to be there also, and he's like good, he's smooth, 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.400 he's confident, you know, he's doing a great job. And then, 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:36.640 you know, stupent me goes up there and again I'm 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:40.439 like stage fright city with like this Jersey accent, you know, 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:45.240 high pitched, squeaky voice. And so then the general manager 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:49.160 takes me out for lunch to do our interview part 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.000 of this whole thing, and we go across the street 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.960 to a McDonald's. Keep in mind, when I got picked 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.280 up at the airport in Lincoln, Nebraska, I'm thinking local news, 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.280 like I'm gonna get picked up in a limo. You know, 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:02.600 I'm like waiting to get picked up in a limousine. 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.280 It's local news, it's big time, Like this is just 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:08.359 so cool, and it's like some girl in her you know, 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:10.560 Toyota Corolla picks me up at the airport and I 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:14.440 was like, this is interesting. So we go to the 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.919 McDonald's and the guys like, are you nervous? And I said, no, 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:19.880 I'm not nervous, you know, trying to be all confident, 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:21.719 and he's like, then, why is your face as right 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.640 as that that French fry carton? And I'm like, I don't. 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:27.000 I don't know, Like what do you say to that? 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:29.200 And how do you like go forward with any kind 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.480 of confidence. So, needless to say, I didn't get the job. 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:34.919 I remember calling them like two weeks later. I'm like, hey, 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.800 I just wanted to follow up to see if you 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.840 selected somebody, and they're like, oh, yeah, we hired somebody else. 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:44.400 Oh you you called up for the no when they 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:48.000 tried to give a silent no, I know. Oh it 0:18:48.119 --> 0:18:50.359 was the worst. It was just awful. And I'm right 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:52.800 out of college and it was just I mean, it 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.080 was it was bad. Was it the camera that made 0:18:55.080 --> 0:18:59.080 you nervous? Was it that? Because that could be very intimidating. 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:02.399 I mean even for people who are actors. And you 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:04.440 know what, I've talked a lot about the show about 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:09.720 transitioning from say theater into film and television. You know, 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:12.119 the camera is a different thing, and playing to the 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:13.800 camera is a different thing. Do you think it was 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.200 that or was it the people that were around? Or 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:19.119 I think it was certainly certainly the camera, because I 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.760 had never spoken to a camera before, and it's lifeless. 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.120 You know, there's there's no reaction. You try to make 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:26.600 a little joke and there's there's nobody laughing on the 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.480 other end. You know, it's just a silent camera. But 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.760 there were also you know, producers around, and I like, 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:35.000 my mind is like, what are they thinking of me? 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:37.919 Like they're judging me. They're obviously sitting there judging me, 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:40.840 and I'm doing terrible. And I love my mom to death, 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.359 but she's not the most reassuring person in the world. 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:47.200 You know, she's like m hmm, not great, Like how 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.199 is that one? Mom? You know, it's like something to 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:54.760 make like something to make me feel more comfortable and 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.800 give me a little nugget, but no, it was just 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:01.040 a struggle and I couldn't. I couldn't get through it. Wow, 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:04.800 So do you do you keep going at this point? Yeah? 0:20:04.920 --> 0:20:07.920 I keep going. I keep sending out more tapes and 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:15.080 I just I'm so grateful that the NBC station in Erie, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Erie, Pennsylvania, 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:18.200 and I drove out there and something just felt different. 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:21.240 It just felt it just felt right. You know. I 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:23.680 showed up in this town I've never been in before. Again, 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:26.960 I've got my mom by my side, and Phil Hayes 0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:29.119 was the news director at the time, and we just 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:32.359 we just clicked better, you know, we could talk. I 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.240 felt more comfortable. I did my little demo. Yes, I 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:37.200 was nervous, but He's like, you know what, I could 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:39.040 tell you're nervous, but I know you're new at this. 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:40.879 We'll get you a voice coach, you know. And he 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:43.679 was like he could see potential in me and was 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:45.760 really going to foster that and he was going to 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:48.159 put in the extra effort to get me where he 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:51.159 wanted me to be. And that's what I spent the 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.440 next two years doing, was just whoever would take me 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:57.440 under their wing. And and Lisa Adams was the main 0:20:57.480 --> 0:20:59.360 news anchor at the time, and she took me under 0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:01.960 her wing. She invite me over for holidays with her family, 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.000 and I just I felt like I belonged and I could. 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:08.879 I wasn't great, but I was able to, you know, 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:12.320 get over that initial greenness that you have when you 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:15.760 first start in this business. Now, maybe he just liked 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:19.200 you or whatever. But do you think that your serious 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:24.520 meteorology degree from Rutgers was a contributing factor in that? 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:30.120 Like the education? What percentage of local meteorologists have a 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:33.639 trained degree? Well, I'd say lately, I'd say lately a 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:37.399 lot more stations require that people have a meteorology degree. 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:39.560 I think it's something to advertise. I think it's something 0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:41.399 to put in all your you know, your ads for 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:43.920 your show, like, oh, we have the most meteorologist in town. 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.320 So I do think when I got into TV, that 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:51.040 was becoming more and more a requirement. It wasn't just 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:54.520 that you wanted, you know, some pretty girl to come 0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:56.639 on and do the weather like you actually had to 0:21:56.680 --> 0:21:59.760 have something to back it up. So that certainly helped. 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:01.280 And I knew what I was talking about in the 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:04.639 erie is like really a tough market to forecast four. 0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:07.119 And you know, I'm just familiar with the weather in 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:09.320 the Northeast having gone to records, and you know, I 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:12.480 could offer my service as a meteorologist, you know, in 0:22:12.520 --> 0:22:17.320 a good way for Erie, Pennsylvania. Right. Why is Erie tough? 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:21.760 Lake effects snow? I mean, it's just it's a weird phenomenon. 0:22:22.080 --> 0:22:28.280 Um lakes effect snow, lake effect snow. Um. So it's 0:22:28.280 --> 0:22:32.159 just it's a what no I'm saying. Okay, so like 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:34.679 I've never I've no now I've learned something new a 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:38.159 lake effects snow. So does the lake effect the snow? 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:41.520