Journalism and mass communications alum Rhonda Lee ’97 is “your favorite weather auntie”
In 1993, Rhonda Lee thought she was going to KU, but then she visited K-State at her father’s behest and changed her mind. She loved the beauty and friendly feeling of K-State.
With a longstanding interest in television and weather, she majored in journalism and mass communications with an electronic journalism focus, and in American ethnic studies.
She was active with the Collegian, Black Student Union, Zeta Phi Beta sorority, residence hall executive board, student government, and even some dance and theater performances.
Lee fondly remembers the camaraderie and leadership she experienced with the Black Student Union.
“Experiences like that are why people choose K-State,” Lee said. “Students are involved in running the university. And I still use those leadership skills today.”
After graduating from K-State in 1997, Lee worked in television for 10 years before going back to school to pursue her meteorologist dream.
Now, after years of “clawing her way up the ladder,” she is chief meteorologist at WETM News in Upstate New York. And she’s the first Black person to hold that position in that 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. But that incident, though tumultuous, was also part of the momentum that led to the federal CROWN Act of 2020, prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture or style.
“It wasn’t easy, but it was one of the best things that happened to me,” Lee said. “I got to [make] an impact on how people perceive themselves, and [help] protect kids from discrimination.”
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.