CenCom Success Story: Rachel Malak, Lifestyle TV Host & Producer
By Camila Brango
Rachel Malak is a rising lifestyle television professional based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. But long before she landed her current role as co-host and producer of the daily program "PA Live!" at Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU, Rachel began her career journey by attending Center for Communication events while studying at Fordham University in New York City. She recently took time out from her busy day at the station to talk with the CenCom team about how attending programs, asking questions, and forging connections at our events helped to put her on the path to her dream career as an entertainment TV host and reporter.
Recalling the first event she attended, a conversation with director Liz Garbus and actress Amy Ryan about their Netflix movie “Lost Girls”, Rachel told us that the chance to participate in such an engaging discussion—and even pose a question during the audience Q&A—validated the creative work she had been doing to start her career and motivated her to put herself out there.
Watch Rachel share more about her first experience with the center.
Having graduated during the depths of the pandemic in 2020, Rachel took full advantage of the virtual events offered by the Center. While attending the virtual Diversity + Media Career Summit, she seized the opportunity to connect with former Out Magazine Editor-in-Chief and podcast host Phillip Picardi and followed up to thank him. That initial email resulted in a lasting connection that continues to thrive to this day.
While she acknowledged the challenges of finding a job after graduation, Rachel recognizes that the job search process is not solely reliant on personal merit and that there are many factors beyond one’s control that can impact the outcome. She reassured students that the inevitable delays do not diminish one’s worth or ability to succeed in the media industry.
“Permission to go for it”
Recounting how her early creative adventures in blogging and podcasting gave her essential experience for her current work as an on-air host and live event emcee, Rachel urged students to “give yourself permission to go for it” and start taking action towards the things that will help advance your media career.
Creating content helped her to work through the universal challenge of Imposter Syndrome and ultimately demonstrate to employers how prepared she was to host and produce a live show.
Make it easy for people to help you
Reflecting on her experience after attending the Center events, Rachel expressed her admiration for the panelists and appreciation for their willingness to engage in meaningful conversations and networking with the students. She urged aspiring networkers to make it as easy as possible for a professional contact to say “yes” when you ask for help: be clear and specific about what you are looking for and offer to handle all the logistics of scheduling time to connect.
I want to thank Rachel for taking the time to talk and catch us up on her fantastic journey. Not only does her story validate and affirm our mission to provide students and recent graduates opportunities to connect with media industry professionals, it proves that initiative, dedication, and proactive networking—combined with attending Center for Communication events 😉—can be a winning recipe for success! We could not be more proud of Rachel and look forward to watching her grow and grow.
