Josiah Acheampong ’25

“I think the career development space, in terms of uplifting and supporting students who do get internships, helps them out in the long run. I might not have graduated if it weren’t for those 12 credits that I received.”

When The Today Show celebrated Al Roker’s 30th anniversary in January, a cohort of former interns-turned-professionals joined the veteran weatherman live on set. Among them was Josiah Acheampong ’25 (Journalism), who’s now the weekend weather forecaster/reporter at the ABC affiliate in Amarillo, TX.

Catching the Weather Bug

Josiah recalls precisely when he became fascinated with the weather. In the aftermath of the devastating “Superstorm” Sandy that made landfall in late October 2012, a second storm dropped nearly a foot of snow only ten days later. That powerful combination lit the spark.

“How did we have something tropical in nature and then something winter in nature all happening in the same week?”

At age nine, he became the kid who woke up early to catch Channel 7’s 4 am weather forecast, then flipped between channels to catch them all before school.

“I just became a big nerd at a very young age, I like to say,” he says, beaming an infectious smile.

The cumulative effect of consuming the forecasts of local and national weather personalities, along with the science of meteorology, solidified his desire to join their ranks.

Two impactful internship experiences allowed him to create an impressive reel of his own on-air weather forecasts for NBC and ABC in New York, which led to Josiah landing the job in Amarillo, one of five offers he chose from on the heels of graduation last May.

Telling the Full Story

Graduating from high school during the height of the COVID pandemic left Josiah a little burned out. After a gap semester, he decided to attend college near his home in Tarrytown, NY. He chose the Journalism program at Purchase for its inherent possibilities, since there were no meteorology programs nearby.

“I can do a lot with that. It still opens up the door for me,” he recalls thinking at the time. It would provide the skills to report the full story “before, during, and after,” rather than simply standing in front of a studio’s green screen. Reporting on the aftermath of major storms is increasingly prevalent.

“It’s imperative to have a journalism degree. Just because you’re knowledgeable about weather doesn’t mean that you can go on the ground and be able to discuss the impacts and have that impassioned interview,” he says.

Talk, Talk, Talk

Networking was key to Josiah landing his internships. Working as a part-time bartender at Red Lobster, an offhand remark to one of his regular customers, who he later learned was a seasoned news executive, led to a connection in the NBC internship program. After several rounds of interviews, he became the Weather and Climate intern at NBC News, working alongside the veteran weatherman Al Roker from January to April 2023.

A family friend then put him in touch with ABC News journalist Linsey Davis, opening the door to his second internship with ABC News Live’s Weather Team in 2024. Serendipitously, his last interview before landing the job was conducted by Kyle McKenzie ’13 (Journalism), coordinating producer for ABC News Live.

Eyeing the Top Ten

Josiah is now earning his bachelor’s degree in meteorology online through Mississippi State University and hopes to someday break into one of the top ten, or even five, news markets.

“I feel capable of working in a top-five market… but I have been blessed to be guided by God and my support system. What’s in the cards for me is what’s in the cards, and I’ll work with what I’ve got.”

Josiah is one to watch…not only for the weather report.

Fun Fact

Between his internships, Josiah wrote the first and only weather report column published weekly by The Purchase Phoenix.