NBCU and LGR

LGR Students Meet Mika Brzezinski

Mika Brzezinski, Co-Host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, met with 24 Let's Get Ready students on October 27th. Mika spoke to the students about her personal background and her career in journalism and television. The students found her path through school and college, her experiences as an intern and reporter, and her life as a journalist and mother, to be truly inspirational.

“Meeting Mika was incredible, and the best part was learning about how she balances her career and her family. She told us that we can be successful and encouraged us to set our goals high.” said Ilaisa Ramirez. Mika has written a book All Things at Once to motivate women and her presentation a significant impact on Ilaisa and the other students.

Mika answered students’ questions and also interviewed several students, asking them questions about themselves. Luis Quezada said, “I was really impressed with all that she has accomplished – that morning she had interviewed Scottie Pippen! And she wanted to know about us, and where we are going to go to college and what we are going to accomplish.”

Before meeting with Mika the Let’s Get Ready students participated in a tour of NBC Studios, learning about the history of Rockefeller Center and how television shows are created. After visiting several studios, LGR students created their own news and weather report using a green screen. The whole experience was inspiring for some future LGR stars!

NBC Universal Foundation Renewal Grant Awarded to Let's Get Ready

On July 22nd, 2009, Let's Get Ready received a $60,000 grant from the NBC Universal Foundation. The grant will support 14 LGR programs in New York City, helping about 600 under-served high school students achieve their college dreams.

This is Let's Get Ready's second grant from the Foundation, and NBC Universal recently featured Let's Get Ready on WNBC in New York with Lynda Baquero (watch the video!).

NBCU Career Day!

On April 16th, 2009, NBC Universal hosted 16 LGR high school students at their New York City headquarters. The LGR students (all males) went on a tour of the studios and learned about the broadcasting industry and business from a wide range of senior NBC employees.

The afternoon was an incredible success and one of the students commented, "I learned about marketing and communications and it was inspiring to hear personal stories of what it takes to make it in the business world." We hope to run another program like this in the fall as well. The event was made possible by NBC Universal employees and by the Foundation grant which supports more than 500 New York City LGR students.

Another student summed up his experience by saying, "I cannot say thank you enough for the event - I networked with some impressive people and I got to sit at an NBC News Desk!"

The NBC Universal Foundation Supports LGR Programs in NYC

On July 17th, 2009, Let's Get Ready (LGR) received a $55,000 grant from the NBC Universal Foundation. The grant from NBC Universal and Telemundo 47 will help make possible 14 LGR programs in NYC, serving about 500 high school students and engaging more than 200 college student volunteers.

Held at NBC's studios in New York City, the Ceremony included a welcome by Tom O'Brien (President, NBC 4 New York) and grant awards were presented by Jorge Ramos (Anchor, Telemundo47) and Carol Anne Riddell (Anchor, News 4 NY). NYC's Deputy Mayor for Education, Dennis M. Walcott, was a special guest for the event.

Lauri Novick, LGR’s Executive Director said, “We are incredibly grateful for NBC Universal’s generosity, and we look forward to working with the Foundation in the coming year." LGR is one of seven local grantees, and the NBC Universal Foundation gave out a total of $400,000.

The NBC Universal Foundation is committed to making a positive impact in targeted underserved communities, and the Foundation invests in educational initiatives that will help prepare children for productive futures. The NBC Universal Foundation supports non-profit organizations that focus on strengthening public secondary education in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago and Dallas.