UWM Alum Luis de Leon: Reflecting on a Journey Thus Far

A young Luis de Leon sat eating lunch in the cafeteria of his elementary school watching through the big glass windows as a thunderstorm made its arrival. All the other students listened to the loud thunder and watched the lighting strike in amazement, while fearful 9-year-old Luis, burst into tears.  The school nurse escorted him to her office where there was a small tv. She asked him if he would like to watch something in hopes of comforting him.

 “Can you turn on the news?” he responded.

Watching the meteorologist and being told the forecast always made him feel comfortable and safe.

“When I think about it now, the only time I wouldn’t have this anxiety about my fear of storms, was when I was watching the news,” said UWM graduate and now KVUE News reporter de Leon.

Growing up in Greenville, Wisconsin, his parents Robert and Maria de Leon were dedicated news consumers from local news media to national. Every day they would come home from work, make dinner, and then eat as a family. Then they would watch the 5p.m. local news, 5:30 p.m. world news, 6:00 p.m. news cast, and finally “Univision” (Spanish news channel) at 6 p.m.

Both his parents were born in the United States but lived their adolescent and teen years in El Salvador. Eventually they both emigrated back to the US to attend college. They found jobs in southeastern Wisconsin, his dad Robert, a paper salesman for Neenah Paper and his mother, Maria, an employee for Kimberly Clark.

De Leon was raised with his twin brother Nick.

“I had a pretty normal childhood and was very lucky to have super hardworking parents,” said de Leon.

De Leon reflected on his struggle with reading and writing as a child. He was the student that had to leave class with another teacher to enhance those skills. As a reporter, he still struggles with having typos but praises his girlfriend Morissa, who majored in English, that helps correct his work.

In 5^th grade de Leon had to put together a mock news cast where he volunteered to be the meteorologist.  While most classmates did a less serious or funny version of a forecast, Leon did a legitimate and professional one. He felt comfortable and confident speaking in front of his peers, furthermore, getting praise from his teach on his excellent work. He then knew he wanted to be in broadcast and in front of the camera. He was inspired by George Graphos of WBDAY TV Action 2 News, of Green Bay Wisconsin.

His love for meteorology carried on into high school where he would still practice putting together forecasts. Friends would come to him and ask about the weather and he liked the feeling of being relied on.

In high school, de Leon began doing job shadows in newsrooms all over Wisconsin, from Green Bay to Milwaukee, to Rhinelander. He even ventured out to Chicago, Illinois. Although he went to shadow meteorologists, he would also sit in on news meetings.

De Leon started watching more complex news stories and documentaries which lead to his understanding of the importance of journalism. Still having a passion for meteorology, he found himself at a crossroads.

UW-Milwaukee’s Panther Vision Program, a student-run news class through Milwaukee PBS studios, caught the attention of Leon. This led him to attend UWM originally as an atmospheric science major. Doing poorly on the math placement test, a subject he struggled with, de Leon found himself in a dilemma about the pace he wanted to go.

“Maybe meteorology just isn’t in the cards,” de Leon told himself.

Already taking classes simultaneously for the JAMS (Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies) program, de Leon shifted his focus. Leon eagerly introduced himself to former UWM instructor Mark Zoromski who led the Panther Vision program. He explained that Panther Vision is what led him to UWM and that although he was only a freshman, he wanted to be the weather person.

Zoromski gave him a chance and allowed him to shadow the students in the program. Since the atmospheric science students did not want to be on air, de Leon was able to step in and be the meteorologist for the program until the end of his sophomore year.

His former teacher/mentor, Jane Hampden Daley, whom he now considers a friend also helped him on his journey.

“She tells it like it is, but she’s supportive like a mother,” said de Leon.

Daley and de Leon first met in “Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies 204 News Writing and Technology.”

“Luis stood out because he had already spent years learning about television news. Luis didn’t wait for someone to tell him how to chase his dream. He started doing it on his own by building relationships and making connections. He has honest curiosity and enthusiasm, and that’s impressive to people working in the field, “said Daley.

Fortunately, being on Panther Vision helped de Leon catch the attention of directors from the educational program at PBS Milwaukee. He was asked to be the on-air talent for their student produced news program.

“That really gave me all the exposure I needed to really make my choice and say, I really like what Milwaukee PBS does. I love the mission behind it of telling local community stories and being able to host and interview those people that are embedded in the community. That’s something I want to do forever,” said de Leon.

Throughout his college journey, de Leon was a part of the journalism club, and at one point the president of the club.

“The students that I worked beside were all so talented. I honestly credit them too for their support and their help. We all really helped each other,” said de Leon.

De Leon’s mentors include Mark Zoromski, who gave him his first chance as a young freshman. He also credits Kevin Pulz, Senior Producer/Director-Instructional Chair at Milwaukee PBS and Sr. Producer/Director-Instructional Chair at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Daley helped navigate him through the process of getting a job and helped him with his first employment contract. His parents were so grateful for her help that they called her after graduation to thank her personally. Although his parents were news consumers, they did not know how the news/media industry worked but they always supported him.

“They’re my biggest inspiration, biggest motivation. I miss them dearly,” says an emotional de Leon.

After graduation, de Leon was offered a reporting position at KVUE in Austin, Texas where he still currently works.

“Luis is ambitious and determined to achieve his goal, but more important than that, he’s a positive and kind person. That comes through on air, and I’m sure it’s a big part of his success. The best thing you can do in any career is treat people with respect and build trust. Those skills come naturally to Luis, and combined with authentic excitement about his work, it makes him unstoppable,” said Daley.

When asking what piece of advice he would give his younger self, de Leon responded, “It’s a competitive industry. I was very eager to get ahead of the game. Be patient, super patient. Calm down. Deep breath. One step at a time. You need to keep pushing. Everyone’s on their own journey.”