While everyone focuses their attention on the Earth, Dan Martinez always had his head in the clouds. His fascination with the weather and broadcasting thunderstruck in college while attending NMSU.
Martinez, 24, is the weekend, evening forecaster at KVIA channel 7 in El Paso, which is the number one station in the area. After being exposed to news & weather at a young age, Martinez knew he wanted to be a weatherman after watching the magic of the green screen.
“It was so cool to see somebody on TV get a chance to show you how the weather was going to be in the future,” said Martinez. “When I was little, I just couldn’t believe the power of weather and the power of a TV forecaster. It’s the main reason people tune in to local TV newscasts.”
Starting at the age of seven, Martinez would set up his own TV sets comprised of various household items such as coffee tables, chairs and bed sheets for the background. With help from his siblings he would record his broadcasts on a VHS Tape with the family camcorder, edit his graphics on the computer and play the weathercasts back for him and his family to see.
College for Martinez, were the years he defined for his career. He earned his spot at various local TV internships and an internship that is few and far between at CNN in Atlanta, Georgia.
“The experience working at the global headquarters for CNN is hard to put into words. The exposure to so many resources around the world makes it a ‘newsies’ toy story,” said Martinez.
Just a semester before graduating from NMSU, Martinez applied and was hired as a weekend weather personality at KVIA. His successes speak for themselves.
With a TV career flourishing, Martinez also had a passion for education. He was always proud of learning and having teachers educate him.
“I always looked forward going to school everyday,” Martinez laughed. “Yes, I was one of those people who looked forward to seeing my teachers and learning about different things.”
Not only is he a weekend TV personality, but he is also a video production teacher at Eastwood High School during the week. So pressure is on him seven days a week. After being inspired by multiple teachers, Martinez wanted to continue his education career to inspire other students to learn and to succeed.
“The passion is what drives me to work in two very competitive fields. However, I want to be help students achieve what I have done and help push them to follow their dreams like I did,” said Martinez.
Photos courtesy of KVIA/Facebook