Alumni Spotlight

Name: Rhonda A. Lee

Professional title: Chief Meteorologist

Organization: WETM News in New York

When written: August 2024

When at K-State: 1993-1997

Major: Journalism and Mass Communications with electronic journalism emphasis, and American Ethnic Studies

Rhonda Lee has been in television since she was a teenager in Wichita. In school, she was a bit of a news nerd, and she always had a love for weather. So, K-State electronic journalism, plus meteorology later, was the perfect professional path for her.

Although Lee had originally planned to go to KU, a visit to K-State, pushed by her father, changed her mind. She loved it—the beauty of the campus, the family feel, super-nice people and purple everywhere.

Lee enrolled at K-State in 1993 and thrived both academically and extracurricularly. She double-majored in journalism and mass communications with an emphasis in electronic journalism and in American ethnic studies. She was also active with the Collegian, Black Student Union, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, residence hall executive board, student government, and even some dance and theater performances.

She fondly remembers her time with the Black Student Union and hosting the Big 12 Council on Black Student Government annual conference. She loved the camaraderie and felt moved to be among all those Black student leaders.

“I so appreciated experiencing leadership through BSU and SGA—experiences like that are why people choose K-State,” Lee said. “Students are involved in running the university. If a new building is being considered, students are brought into the planning. And I still use those leadership skills today.”

After graduating from K-State in 1997, Lee thought about pursuing meteorology but changed her mind because she didn’t want to take algebra. But 10 years later, a television colleague convinced her to do meteorology.

Lee earned her meteorology certificate from Mississippi State University in 2007 and then worked all over the country, clawing her way up the ladder.

Now, she is the chief meteorologist at WETM News in Upstate New York—the first Black person to hold that position in the region.

Of course, the journey had its ups and downs.

In 2012, Lee was fired from her job in Shreveport, La., after responding to negative comments about her hair on the station’s Facebook. That incident, however, was also part of the momentum that led to the passing of the federal CROWN Act, or Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act, of 2020, which prohibits discrimination based on hair texture or style.

“It wasn’t easy, but it was one of best things that happened to me,” Lee said. “I got to help change the planet. I made an impact on how people perceive themselves and helped protect kids from discrimination.”

Like many before and after her, Lee took that camaraderie and leadership she experienced at K-State out into the world and made positive change.

Now, several years and moves later, "your favorite weather auntie," as she likes to call herself, enjoys helping people understand weather and plan their outfits every day—through the sunshine and the storms.

—By Marcia Locke, August 2024