Brooke DiPalma is an Associate Producer at Yahoo! News in New York City.  She graduated from Marist with a degree in journalism and PR.                               

Brooke DiPalma ’18, who majored in journalism and PR and minored in political science, understands the value of college internships better than most people.  In fact, she completed four internships during her career as a Marist undergraduate: Late Night With Seth Myers, News 12 Long Island, Yahoo! Finance, and WABC-TV.  She cites those experiences, along with the strong support of Marist faculty and staff members, for her current success as an Associate Producer at Yahoo! Finance, a position she started one week after graduation.  She adds, “Through my internships, I found out that I love the fast pace of the news industry.”

DiPalma gets up every morning at 4 a.m. at her home in Long Island and commutes into Manhattan for her job as an Associate Producer for Market Movers, which airs at 9 a.m. and brings viewers all the news influencing capital markets.  She says, “I never expected to end up in financial journalism, but I’m taking the opportunity to learn everything I can.  I’m fortunate enough to be in a position where my team cares deeply about my success and journey.”  Indeed, DiPalma had already interned for Yahoo! Finance before starting there full-time so her work ethic was already well known.  After studying abroad in Florence, she found the internship at Yahoo! Finance through a friend’s cousin and worked there the summer after her junior year.  DiPalma started as an editorial intern, but wanted to learn the production side as well, so she took on extra projects and made herself known.  She recalls, “I wrote articles on influencers and helped with ‘man in the street’ interviews in Times Square, and it was such a great experience because they let me be really hands-on.  I knew that this was what I wanted to do and that they had a culture I wanted to be a part of.”  In fact, celebrity sightings at the office – including Serena Williams and Karlie Kloss – are a fun perk of the job.

If it all seems easy, it wasn’t, but DiPalma had great support along the way.  Explains DiPalma, “When I got back from studying abroad, I felt a bit lost because I didn’t get an internship I had applied for and was at loose ends.”  She credits Mary Jones, Executive Director of the Center for Career Services, for spending time with her at a career fair and connecting her with professionals in the field.  The mentoring paid off, and DiPalma became a firm believer in the power of networking: “I always say that my network is my net worth.”  She credits Affiliate Lecturer Sara Nowlin’s public presentation course with helping her learn to project confidence and sparking the desire to empower and educate others.  She also got to know Dean of the School of Communication and the Arts Lyn Lepre through the Deans’ Circle, and is grateful to her for taking her under her wing and making sure she kept on track.  Finally, DiPalma cites Professional Lecturer of Public Relations LoriBeth Greenan, MIPO Director Lee Miringoff, Director of the Marist Poll Barbara Carvalho, and the whole MIPO team for being so instrumental in her college career.

DiPalma says that she feels extremely lucky to be where she is right now, but she continues looking ahead.  “In the future, I would love to be on air.  I think that learning what happens behind the scenes is just as important as being in front.  It’s not all glamour – it’s running to get guests, it’s cold calls, it’s hours of research.  Most important, in five years, I hope to continue to be with a team that challenges me to achieve what I once thought was the unthinkable.”  Additionally, being an on-air personality offers the opportunity for a platform to drive change.  Mental health awareness is a cause close to DiPalma’s heart, and she hopes to be in a position to advocate publicly for it.  Asked how she would advise current Marist students, she encourages them to take advantage of the College’s proximity to New York City for internships and capitalize on the connections they make.  She notes, “I networked like crazy and was really involved on campus.  I put community first, and it has really paid off.”