By Ashley-Anna Aboreden
Brandon Launerts, an FIU alumnus, went from working at Dairy Queen to landing his dream job working for CBS News in New York City.
Launerts graduated from FIU in 2016 in the Communication Arts program. During his time in college, he also juggled a part-time job from Dairy Queen and an internship at NBC. While managing work, school and an internship were difficult, Launerts believes it to be one of the best things he’s done. Working hard to reach his goals no matter what obstacle prepared him for the career he has now.
“Do whatever it takes. Take the unpaid internship if you have to,” said Launerts.
It was in this internship where Launerts learned valuable skills that would help him throughout his career. He strove to learn as much as he could from every department.
“I was eager to learn about every department in the building. From helping out a producer with offering to write a short story for the newscast some nights to picking up a handheld camera and assisting the production crew, learn everything,” said Launerts.
With this drive and work ethic, Launerts was able to learn everywhere he was, including at FIU.
When reflecting back on his time in college, Launerts believes FIU prepared him in many ways for a career in journalism.
“FIU taught me up some great things about politics, writing and improving my public speaking and learning different body languages. I believe those are all important things to master in journalism,” said Launerts.
After working for NBC 6 for about four and a half years, Launerts began working for WSVN 7 News. Meanwhile, he never let go of his dreams and goals, one of which was working in New York City.
Brandon Launerts now works in New York City for “CBS This Morning,” the national morning broadcast on CBS.
He works every day at 7 a.m. with Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson.
“I’m a social media associate producer. I’m responsible for helping manage the show’s social media and live-tweeting the newscast every morning,” said Launerts.
In 2012, Launerts won an Emmy award as a lead news editor for a breaking story. He was the youngest Emmy award winner at NBC 6 South Florida.
“No matter what you’re going through in life, try to stay passionate. Don’t let people try to crush your dreams or bring you down. I see that as motivation to work harder,” said Launerts.
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