Lauren Bryant
From “Pet of the Week” to prime-time weather
From classroom to newsroom, Lauren is earning a Bachelor’s in Communication at PennWest
California and building real-world experience through internships.
Lauren Bryant
From “Pet of the Week” to prime-time weather
From classroom to newsroom, Lauren is earning a Bachelor’s in Communication at PennWest California and building real-world experience through internships.
“I took that knowledge from PennWest, put it right into the broadcasting, and I was able to communicate with other people as if I already worked there.”
At 2 a.m., most college students are asleep. Lauren Bryant was walking into a newsroom, wide awake, a little nervous, and ready to prove she belonged.
That confidence didn’t appear overnight. Lauren’s interest in broadcasting started back in high school, when she helped produce a weekly segment called “Pet of the Week.”
“I actually did Pet of the Week as my own high school news,” she said.
In the process, she discovered she loved telling stories, and she found herself drawn to weather.
“So, combining the two, I was able to get a career in broadcast meteorology, which is what I’m striving to do today,”
At PennWest California, Lauren is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Communication with a minor in Meteorology, turning that early spark into real preparation. When she stepped into her first major internship at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, she felt the pressure immediately:
“Pretty nerve-wracking. You don’t know anything, and you’re the newbie there.”
Then, a small moment reassured her she was in the right place. The station provided a list of broadcast terms for interns, and Lauren realized she already knew many of them.
“Some of those broadcast terms I had learned already in some of my courses at PennWest,” she explained.
That coursework helped her communicate confidently and translate class learning into newsroom work: reading scripts, building rundowns, and understanding the rhythm of on-air production.
Lauren didn’t just observe. She showed up for the work. At WTAE, she took on early-morning shifts, sometimes “2 a.m. to 10 a.m.,” gaining hands-on experience alongside meteorologists. Later, she expanded her perspective through a summer internship at Fox Weather in New York, working “9 to 5 every day” next to meteorologists and editors, and spending time with reporters to see what different roles felt like in real time. She also continued building experience through WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio, plus job shadowing at KDKA-TV and the National Weather Service.
Now a senior, Lauren knows exactly where she wants to take her career next.
“I want to go south. I’m tired of the snow,” she laughed, setting her sights on field reporting and hurricanes.
With PennWest preparation and real newsroom experience already behind her, Lauren is doing what prospective students hope for: turning college into momentum, and momentum into a future that’s truly within reach.