Almost a
month after graduating from Mount Saint Mary College in May of
2006, Enny Pichardo started working at NY1 Noticias, a 24-hour news
station that covers New York City. He started as a news writer and
shortly after that learned how to produce. Enny was in charge of
writing and editing the news stories, including the video feed,
images and sound bites that accompanies each news story.
Soon Enny got a chance to do what he has dreamed about: a chance
to report the news. His first reporting assignment started when we
got a call in about a possible terrorist threat against JFK
Airport. His boss, Maritz Puello, whom he considers a mentor and
role model, called and asked, “Enny, are you ready for stardom?”
According to Enny, “I ran up to the airport to find nothing!” Soon
after he was sent to cover a wide variety of stories, such as
stories for their living segment, political debates and press
conferences at New York City Hall and crimes committed in the local
area.
Enny said, “I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to
interview many personalities and political leaders. Some of the
most memorable people are Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Charles
Schumer, Gov. David Paterson, Rep. Jose Serrano, Rep. Charles
Rangel, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, salsa singers Eddie Palmieri, La
India, Jerry Rivera, singers Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio
Estefan, reggaeton group/duo 'Calle 13', Daddy Yankee, Don Omar,
and actress Eva Longoria, among other Spanish speaking
actors/singers/TV personalities.”
Enny’s next big break came after he received a call from a
friend asking if he could help another friend by contributing to a
morning show on Nuestra Tele Noticias (NTN24), an exclusive 24/7
international news channel that provides world-wide news coverage
in Spanish for the U.S. Hispanic audience. They also broadcast in
Latin America and parts of the so-called ‘old world’. NTN24 needed
someone to talk about the David Letterman case. Enny also assisted
them by participating in a talk about the H1N1 Flu.
After assisting NTN24 on several occasions, he received a job
offer to become NTN24’s NY Correspondent. Created by RCN
Television, the network has 30 minute news segments, two '1 hour'
newscasts and programming related to the economy, entertainment,
sports, weather and breaking news around the world. Its major
competitor is CNN en Espanol.
According to Enny, “NTN24 has given me the opportunity to
travel. I've been in Haiti twice to cover the earthquake. The first
time, 5 days after the earthquake, not only did I get to do many
live transmissions and news stories, but I also got to see with my
own eyes what was really going on. There is so much destruction, so
many deaths: from children to the elderly and so much poverty. It
amazed me that they need things that here in America, we get rid
of. It really made me appreciate what God has given me”.
The second time he was sent to Haiti, 3 months after the
earthquake, NTN24 decided to do a half hour special that Enny
hosted. This special was called Haiti: 100 dias despues (Haiti: 100
days later). He found a Haiti still destroyed. People were still
sleeping outside, hungry and needing so much. The children are not
going to school, they do not have a place to sleep, or they are by
themselves because they lost their parents.
More recently Enny went to Arizona to cover the recent approval
of the SB1070 law that criminalizes immigrants. He recently also
has had the opportunity to interview the Dalai Lama’s visit to the
United States and President Obama’s visit to New York City.
Enny stated, “Mount Saint Mary College prepared me very well for
the real world. From Sr. Catherine's news writing class to a huge
mistake I made at one of my classes with JC Barone (which taught me
a lot about the real world). I will never forget Dr. Davidson's
class on English grammar. I always remember to write simple short
sentences rather the long ones!
"The things I've learned at the Mount have helped me become who
I am today, a person who has grown up both spiritually and
professionally. When I decided to leave City College of New York
and transfer to Mount Saint Mary College as a HEOP (Higher
Education Opportunity Program) student, I was unsure of my
decision. However, I am so glad that I made the leap."
"At Mount Saint Mary College I found a place where the faculty
fosters close student-faculty interaction. It allowed me to develop
a close relationship with my professors and ask for advice when
needed. This allowed me to reach my full potential as a student. I
would not change my experience at the Mount for anything in the
world.”