As a native of Chicago, having attended college in California with various stops in other cities along the way, describe your personal and professional journey that led you to eventually land back in the Windy City.
From the beginning of my career, I always knew that I wanted to report the news in my hometown. I’ll never forget my first time anchoring in Studio 5 on Michigan Avenue, and thinking, “Is this real?”
Anchoring the morning show allowed me to gain a ton of experience very quickly. Like a bodybuilder in the gym, I was getting a ton of reps between 4AM and 11AM, but I was also exhausted from the early hours. When you’re young and up-and-coming, even if you’re in a big market like Chicago, there is still a lot of internal and external pressure to keep climbing the ladder to the next TV opportunity. NBC New York came calling in 2016, and I faced a tough decision. I genuinely loved what I was doing in Chicago, but if you want to work in network or national news, the game is played in New York. Ultimately, it was the right move at the right time.
It’s funny, I remember telling colleagues on my last day of anchoring mornings, this is not goodbye, but “see you later.” Looking back, I think there was a part of me that kind of knew I would eventually return to NBC 5 Chivago.
Once in New York, I loved working at 30 Rock. Our news- room was right down the hall from Jimmy Fallon’s studio. Getting to spend a little time with my dad was just a quick elevator ride down a few floors to his office. I’d stop by to talk shop, or geek out over airplanes. We’re both big
aviation nerds.
WNBC was a huge
professional
accomplishment and
allowed me to report
on major national and
international stories.
My work took me
from Harlem, to
Havana, Westchester
to Washington DC.
The growth
continued, and I saw
myself someday
becoming a network
correspondent.
Those ambitions
started to change
around the COVID-
19 Pandemic. Our
family had grown, and I
was starting to feel this
pull between my role as a father, and my role as a journalist. My wife was also feeling a need for a change. Naturally, we wanted to return to Chicago where we could
raise our kids, and I could
still grow my talents. When
the opportunity at NBC 5 presented itself, the decision was a no brainer. We loaded up the family in the car, and road tripped from New York.
I’ll never forget that moment merging onto the Dan Ryan, with the skyline looming in
the distance. I turned around to the boys in the back seat and
said, “we’re home!”