 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness. Today's special guest is a local girl who previously worked for NBC Palm Springs as an anchor, reporter, and producer and earned an Emmy nomination. She has come full circle back home to Hawaii to anchor the K-Chuan Tu News, which ironically was where she first interned at. She is Lauren Day, and today we are going beyond the news. Lauren, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. This is awesome. I love your setup, and it's what an honor to be asked to be here. Thank you for having me. Well, I'm excited for everyone to get to know you. Okay, let's start. I know that you're very popular on the news, and they might know who you are, but they don't really know you, so today is the day that they get to know you. I'm in the hot seat. Yes. Be gentle. So, Lauren, tell me about your experiences growing up in Hawaii. I was really blessed, I mean, what better place to grow up in, to be in a melting pot of cultures. I think that was something that I hold near and dear to my heart, especially when I went way to the mainland later on. I really started to appreciate growing up here, but I went to Hanaholi for elementary school. I credit them so much for, I think, making me just feel like a confident person. They have this culture at Hanaholi school about making kids feel like their motto is joyous work, so loving what you do. And I think that's kind of why I went into a field and I knew I wanted to do something that I love. So after Hanaholi, seventh grade, I went to Hanaholi. Nice. Graduated from there for high school. Yeah, I mean, I had a blast. Hanaholi was, it was hard, like homework, all of that, you know. It wasn't easy, but I really enjoyed my time growing up here, going to school here, learned a lot, all the, you know, from Mayday, you know, Makahiki at Hanaholi. You know, those cultural things that I don't think you, I would have gotten anywhere else. Totally. Yeah. Lauren, what's the first job you've ever had? Ooh. The first job I ever had on my breaks when I was a freshman at Hanaholi, ninth grade, I worked at the cafeteria. Great. So they paid me, you know, minimum wage, but I was helping the aunties serve lunch to other students, and I made maybe 24 bucks a week. Yeah. And I think that, you know, really, it made me appreciate them, and it made me, like, realize what it is to work a little bit. You know, I was a ninth grader, and then from there I slowly started to do. I was a teacher's assistant in the summers at Punahola for summer school. And yeah, those were my first actual paychecks. I wonder if I still have the stuff for $24. Did you ever have a chance to work at Punahovision? Yes, I did. Really? Punahovision was, man, like, looking back on it, I think I have to credit them for everything. Punahovision was sort of my hobby, and it was kind of like a club for students that were interested in film. So we got to go, you know, film the football games, we got to film the Punahola alumni luau's make documentaries. And I really just did it for fun. It was awesome that Punahola actually paid us, because we were kind of doing these promotional videos for the school. Yeah. But I think that was where I really started to love editing. I loved filming. I loved talking to people, telling stories. And I didn't realize, hey, that was what I was going to do for work years later, right? But yeah. Great. Now, Lauren, you went to Tufts and then USC for college. Tell me about that. So my senior year at Punahola, I was wanting to apply to a lot of different schools. I wasn't sure, to be honest, if I was going to be able to leave Hawaii because it's so expensive. Oh, yeah. So I really didn't know. And I happened to get the most scholarship and financial aid from Tufts University in Boston. Also happened to be where my dad went to school. So I chose Tufts. It was probably, I guess you could say, maybe the best school that I had gotten into. Yeah. Based on rankings. I now realize many years later that really doesn't matter. But so I went to Tufts in Boston. It was freezing. I think that was really hard for me as, you know, moving away from home in a city I've never lived in and then going from Hawaii to Boston. I can't. I didn't really love it. I was missing home so much. I like, I remember being a freshman. It was snowing outside. I had an eight a.m. calculus class and all I wanted to do was just counting down the days for winter break back home in Honolulu. So from there, I just wasn't really happy. It was a computer science major, believe it or not. Like coding. Some people, they're great at it. I wasn't. And I just, it wasn't something that made me happy. And my, I called my college counselor at Punahau, Mr. Arakawa. So thank you, Mr. Arakawa. But he told me, why don't you apply to the Annenberg School of Journalism at USC? Great. Transfer. And I did. And then a couple months later, I got in. At that, at that point, I wasn't really sure if I still wanted to transfer, but I was still kind of unhappy. And I visited USC and I saw what the Annenberg School had to offer. I saw the student newsroom. I saw that it was, wow, this was like, what a vision. This was like what I've been doing for all these years that I loved. And kids are studying that to, you know, do that as their full-time career. It was that moment when I saw what USC had to offer that was like, I want to go into journalism. This is what I've been doing. I just didn't realize it. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. And Lauren, I want to know, by the way, congratulations on your recent engagement. Thank you. So tell me about your fiance and your cute little dog. Well, hopefully we have a picture, but yes, all there he is. So this is Kyle and our dog, Benye. Benye has more followers than me on Instagram. Yes, he has an Instagram and a Facebook page. Instagram is baby underscore Benye. No, but they are both. They're just the reason that I, you know, want to do well and very happy. Fantastic. Congratulations. Thank you. And Lauren, I met your mom a few months ago and she she read my book and she did a great like book review and posted it on on Facebook. Tell me about your mom. So this is my mom. This is Rhonda. Everyone says we look alike. It's funny when I'm not with my mom, they don't like don't put two and two together. But when I'm with her, they're like, oh, you look just like my mom. My mom, I think my mom is the reason why she like she works so hard. She's always, always working, if you know, my mom. And I think she was the one that kind of instilled that in me from when I was little, like, you just got to work hard. I mean, she she was also the person that was like, if you don't ask, the answer is no. So I think that like really helped, especially in journalism, when you're, you know, doing reporting, it's like, I'm not afraid to ask the question because the worst they're going to tell me is either I can't tell you that or go away or but you know, like, if you don't ask, the answer is no. So I think that's kind of yeah, my mom's a hard worker. And I definitely got that from her. So your dad, what's the biggest thing you've learned from your dad? My dad, my dad is someone who he could go to Starbucks. He would just, you know, go to Starbucks or, you know, sit down with me out in the patio and think that that was the best day ever. I think he really instilled in me that you don't need to go buy a bunch of expensive things. You don't need to like the little things are what matters. You know, like me and him, he used to take me to the beach and that was the best day. You know, just him and I didn't cost anything. It was free. I think he made me really appreciate it. I think the little things in life that just, you know, being with someone is what matter. Yeah, it's all about the little things. Lauren, I find it interesting that you did an internship at Cajun two years ago. Tell me about that experience. So after I got into the journalism school at USC, when I came home for summer, I knew I wanted to have an internship to really see, like, is this what I really want to do? So I was lucky enough. Cajun was my first internship in news. And that's crazy to me. Like I'm with Howard and Marissa as an intern in that picture. And now I'm doing it for real. So yeah, so H1 was my first internship. I remember on the first day I was so nervous. I could do not I had my dad drive around around the block where the station is by Alamwana three times. I felt like I was going to puke. I was so nervous because this was like what I wanted to do. And it was like H1, like the studio that Joe Moore was on, the station that we had all, you know, all of us, like rope watching. Yeah, my first internship, I was very lucky. The station kind of just they let me do a lot. They let me go out in the field. I got to shadow reporters and then I was really like, yeah, this is what I want to do. And I did it. Well, you did it for sure. So what opportunities were you presented with after that internship? I think because I worked so hard at the internship, I showed up every day. I treated it like I want to get hired here out of college. So I treated every day of that internship like this is my this is my job. Yeah. And I, you know, built a resume, I built a reel, some of the photos when I was an intern, helped me build a little bit of a reel. Enough where when I went back to school, I would have been a sophomore at UC or junior. And I had enough on my resume where I was able to get another internship. But second internship was with ABC seven in Los Angeles. And from there, kind of just built. And then once I had two of them, I got an internship with Fox News, the network. Wow. So it was sort of like the building blocks. So K-H-O-N was kind of the start. And then you you previously worked at NBC Palm Springs. And that's where you received an Emmy nomination for your coverage of the Wildfires. Tell me about that experience. So NBC Palm Springs was my first job out of college. I started three days after graduation. This is a photo of me in a mountain area called Ida Wilde in Southern California. I was covering the Cranston fire. It was a fire that just sort of blew up over a couple of hours. It was actually someone who was an arson when started it, which is the worst part. But the mountain was basically, you know, you could see the smoke from miles away. I could see it from where I lived two hours away from that mountain. So I, you know, was the morning reporter on it. I was up there for 16 hours a day. You know, we came back wrenched in the smoke smell. We were inhaling that, but that was really hard. I think seeing, seeing people's homes burned, being like they lost everything, you know, like all that was left is their chimney in their homes. That was like, I think that was the hardest part was covering that, knowing like, this was people's everything. Yeah, for sure. And it was one of those areas in California where it's very tourism heavy. If you can imagine that really, really hurt that community. And I just felt for them so much, but, you know, I was very active on social media. And I think that's when I really realized that this is when journalism matters. You know, I was people's eyes and ears, whether the street was on fire, whether their homes were on fire. Yeah, people were asking me to go door to door to check on their homes. And I did, you know, I mean, I didn't. You know, I just felt for them so much that I, you know, in between like reporting and writing and doing the live shots, I walked up the street to see was their home. So yeah, it was definitely emotional. But I think probably one of the most I learned a lot from it. And I also like I made a lot of friends after, you know, it was all said and done. They had a saying called Idlewild, Idlewild Strong. And I went back to the community after it all, you know, they had this big fundraiser event and it really like I felt like I was I felt like I was home. To be honest, it was very much a Hawaii community. Well, and then now you've come full circle back to KHON2 as the official news anchor. How did that all happen? So I think it was a lot of it was timing. So I had spent two years at NBC Palm Springs. I was starting to figure out, OK, what's my next step going to be? You know, where do I want to go? And in news, I mean, you can go like all over the country, you know, and that's kind of just how you climb the ladder in a sense. And it just so happened that Marissa Yamane decided to leave KHON. That's when I got the call from the station. Are you interested in coming back? Of course, I was interested. So I thought about it for a little while and I was looking at a couple of other offers and just ultimately like, how could I turn down coming home? Sure. Well, Lauren, we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond the news. Awesome. Sounds good. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Lauren Day. We will be back in 60 seconds. Aloha, I'm Stan Osterman, Stan the Energy Man every Friday here on Think Tech Hawaii. If you're really interested in finding out what's going on in energy, especially here in Hawaii, but also all the way around the world, and especially if it has to do with hydrogen, look into Stan the Energy Man every Friday, 12 o'clock, Think Tech Hawaii either. Aloha. Aloha, my name is Duretian. You are watching Think Tech Hawaii. I will be hosting a show here every other Wednesday at 1 p.m. and we will be talking to a lot of experts and guests around sustainability, social justice, the future here in Hawaii, progressive politics and a whole lot more. So please tune in and thank you for watching Think Tech Hawaii. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is a local girl who is the very popular TV news anchor for Keiqo N2. She is Lauren Day, and today we are going beyond the news. Lauren, tell me about your experiences working with Dash, Bridget and Justin. Oh, we have a good time. I'll just say that. They're awesome. I feel like Keiqo N2, I feel like I was welcome into a family. Yeah, like truly it's such a good work environment in that sense. Good work life balance. But also we have potlucks on holidays. I feel like Dash is just like a friend and same with Bridget. You know, we talk about stuff outside of work, but it's just a great environment. I don't feel like it's competitive or anyone's trying to put you down. I feel like everyone there tries to build you up and that's really what, you know, that's what I think everyone wants in a working part. Totally. It's healthy and fun. Yes, that's the most important part. Yeah, we have fun. So, Lauren, what do you really like about anchoring? Oh, I think anchoring. First of all, I think anchoring and reporting are so very different for me. I love both of them. I think anchoring allows me to connect a little bit more with the viewer, which I really appreciate because then when I get to meet them out in the field, I just feel like they kind of get to know me better. I think that's that connection that I really like. And I think it's also being in more of a leadership position as far as in the newsroom goes that I enjoy. As far as reporting goes, I like meeting people. Yeah, I truly that's where my heart lies. And I like storytelling. I don't like it when it's a bad story. That's that's the worst part of the job, to be honest. But I love meeting people. I love telling the stories that make you boost bumps about people in our community. I think those two very different things. And I love both of them. Well, you're very personable. And, Lauren, you definitely go beyond the lines. And in my book, I talk about, you know, leadership and creating a superior culture of excellence. What is the culture like at KHON too? I think the culture is when things are crazy and when there's breaking news. This is what I love most about the station, that we all come together. We're all pitching in. No one's just sitting in the corner, not knowing what to do or not wanting to help. And I think that's when it matters most is when there's so much chaos. You know, the things are going like haywire. But we managed to keep our cool and we managed to get it done. And no one's like, again, no one's putting each other's down in those moments. I think that's what really matters. That's a great culture to have. Lauren, besides the wildfires, what's another exciting story that you covered? Well, I think there are many. And it's so hard for me to remember all of them. One thing that was really exciting for me was when I was in Palm Springs, I went down to the US-Mexico border to cover a story on dental migration. There's actually a lot of people. There's this little town on the border of California and Arizona called Los Algonona. And it's a dental town. They have hundreds of dental offices. Seriously, like that's all they do is dental offices. And a lot of people will drive down to the border or they'll fly in from Canada to get their teeth done because it's cheaper. And I think that was really exciting for me because I didn't travel much growing up and there's a lot of preconceived notions about what Mexico is like. And I had no idea what I was walking into. So it was sort of this culture shock. But I just remember being so excited for it and getting to go there. The tacos were so good. We love tacos. Yes, they were amazing. We need better tacos. Yeah, I know. I see that. Someone bring a good taco place. No, but I think that was really exciting was just learning. I enjoy learning about other cultures and getting to see what it was like in a different country. Lauren, you know, in recent times, some journalists are getting criticized for kind of their reporting opinions, their opinions versus facts. What are your thoughts about that? Well, for me personally, I put being a reporter first. Yeah. And I believe we need accurate and also compassionate journalism. So for me, I don't believe in inserting my opinion. I don't think that's my job. My job is just to report the facts and what I know. And I think that's I think as a reporter, that's that's good journalism. Totally agree. Totally agree. So, Lauren, what is some what's something that you would like to improve about yourself? There are many. I think the biggest thing is just not being so hard on myself. I feel like I've always been that way. You know, ever since I was little, like even at Honholy, even at Putahoe, it was always hard on myself. But more so being as someone who's in the media on TV. I feel like it's really hard when you have everyone watching or your mess up. And just for me, it's just being able to let it go. So even if I if I stumble, I will remember that and it kind of bothers me. But then I have to remember, OK, like we don't all talk perfectly in our everyday conversations, right? And it's just it's just being to be a little less hard on myself. I think is something that I need to work on. So in terms of anchoring, is that like the biggest challenge for you as an anchor? Or what would it be? Biggest challenge. Yeah. Yeah, I would say so. I think being able to just know that we're not perfect and that we're human too. And I mean, I would hope that the viewers can see that as well. So I and I think it's kind of a double-edged sword because I think being hard on myself and being a perfectionist is part of the reason why I was able to be so successful and reach my goal at such a young age, but at the same time, like emotionally, it's hard when sometimes I know that I'm too hard on myself. When I know somebody watching or someone else would probably be like, oh, it doesn't matter, you know? But for me, it's like, I messed that up, you know? I know what you feel like because I'm the same way. Yeah, I guess that's the problem when you just you want to do really well. That's just for me. And I know it's like I care a lot. So it's like I want it to be perfect, but we're not perfect. So it's I have to remind myself that a lot. Don't be too hard on yourself and don't let it bother you too much. I need to like print that out on like a piece of paper and put it on my desk. So, Lauren, everyone defines success in different ways. How would you define success? That's so true. It's different for everyone. I think success is achieving what you want to do. So that, you know, for you is different than it is for me. For me, it being the best reporter, being the best anchor that I can be. And I think at one point it was getting to a specific city or market and to do this, but not everyone wants to be on TV. Not everyone wants to be a journalist, you know? So I think it's once you reach the goal that you want to do, that's whether it's you want to own your own business or whether you, you know, want to work in finance, whatever that whatever your goal is. And once you reach that, I think. And Lauren, you've been involved on, I mean, in many teams at different stations. And in terms of leadership, what do the best leaders do? Leaders, I think the best leaders are kind. Yeah, they're kind. They're just good people. And I think they show good work ethic. And I think the best leaders are the ones that other people watch and admire from afar. And they're like, oh, I want to be like rusty. You know what I mean? It's those are the best leaders that, you know, other people want to be like. They they set the example. And they have empathy. They care about their people. Yeah, for sure. So, Lauren, in terms of. Success, why are you so successful now? I think because I'm not afraid to work again. We talked about like I got that from my mom, but like my advice for other people and for other interns is, you know, show up early, leave late. Yeah. And I think the reason why I was able to reach my goal at a fairly young age was that I worked so hard. Like in college, it wasn't like I just went to college and then I got the job out of school. Like, I mean, I was seriously like in addition to the internships, I still had class. I was the executive producer of our student run TV show or news station. I had a half hour talk show and I was also reporting and anchoring for that new show. So every single day I had something every single day I was working on it. Wow. So that's why I got those internships and then that's why I got my first job and then that's why I'm here. So I think it's an even still to this day. It's not I stay late working on reaching out to people or even in the mornings before work. So I think if anyone thinks that it's just going to be an eight hour job and you're done. That's not the case, you know, you have to be willing to show up. You have to be willing to work hard. And if if you're not, I don't think you should expect that you're going to reach that goal. And that's why you have that Emmy nomination. Yeah, I guess so. You know, it's just and and to that point it was like for the wildfires. I would go home. I was done with a 16 hour work day, but I was still posting on social media because I knew that there were thousands of people watching my feed, wanting to know what's what's going on. Like did the fire move? Is it is it better? Did it grow? So it was, you know, even when I got home after that long day, I was still working in the one I woke up in the morning. I was still I would do that again. So it's you just have to be dedicated and not not afraid to work. Oh, you're definitely dedicated. So Lauren, who are some role models in the TV news world that you admire? I have a lot. And I think for different reasons, too. I really love Robin Roberts on Good Morning America. She's just so personable, writing wise. I love Steve Hartman. He's a CBS reporter, and he does these feel good stories about amazing people across the country. And I just love his writing. I will watch every single story of Steve Hartman. Every single one will give me goosebumps. And I feel like sort of, you know, when I write my stories, have him in the back of my head. Oh, yeah. How would Steve Hartman write this story? So I think he's probably my biggest writing idol. Got it. Yeah. So who is someone that you look to as a mentor? As a mentor. That one's easy. Yeah. Leo Stallworth. I don't know if he's going to watch this. He better. Yeah, right. No, but I met him. He's a reporter for ABC 7 in Los Angeles. So I met him at my internship. You know, I got to go out in the field with him. And honestly, he's become a second dad. Like, you know, I text him all the time, not just about work, about personal things. And he sort of took me under his wing. He brought me out of my shell. I was not like this when I was, you know, in high school. I was, you know, more shy, I guess. Or, you know, I just, I don't think I found myself. I wasn't confident. That's the word. And he sort of made me, you know, he, he made me like, not only did he coach me through, you know, how to be a good reporter, how to be a good anchor, but he also coached me through life in the sense that he taught me that it's important to not always put a career, your career first. And that's something that I want to make sure, you know, I have at the forefront of my, of, you know, what I'm doing, because I know I'm someone that work and, you know, get carried away. Like, I'm a hard worker, right? But he was the one that was like, you know, go home, enjoy beignet, enjoy your fiance. That's what matters. I like that you said coaching in there because, you know, that's really what mentors do as they coach. I think that would be my advice to other young people, too, is try to find a mentor. And I think if you just ask, so many people are willing to help. Yeah. But it's you asking for the help. And so, you know, when I first met him, I was like, can I, can I learn from you? Can you look at my stories? Can you coach me and can you mentor me? I actually asked him. It wasn't like he offered it to me. You know, I went out of my way to ask him. And I mean, to this day, we go to him every single week. Yeah. Yeah. Making a great impact. I love that. Yeah. Lauren, it was so awesome having you on the show today. And you are someone that, like I said earlier, you go beyond the lines. Thank you. And I love that everyone got to kind of know you more. Well, thank you so much for having me, enjoyed being here. Hopefully it made sense. Yes, of course. Yeah. Thank you, Lauren. Thank you for having me. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com. And my book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope that Lauren and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.