Eileen and Sage: The Stories We Believe In

Rachael: Welcome to Season 8 of Formative, the show where today's leaders are interviewed by the leaders of tomorrow.

Eileen Lehpalmer is a television and radio reporter with two decades of experience in New York city. Eileen is a four time winner of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. She's also won an Emmy and has several other Emmy nominations for investigative work. We are so excited to chat with Eileen today about her upbringing in Brooklyn and her path to a long career in journalism.

Rachael: Hello and welcome. I'm Rachael Gazadick, CEO of New York Edge, and my co-host today is Sage from I.S 45K. Sage, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? 

Sage: Okay well, I'm 11. I'm in the sixth grade. My name is Sage, of course. I have two sisters. My hobbies are dance, basketball, and step. I want to go to UConn when I'm older, and I also want to make it to the WNBA or be the president.

Rachael: That's amazing. I hope you become both. So Sage, who do we have with us today? 

Sage: I'm very excited. And we are interviewing Eileen Lehpalmer. 

Eileen: Thank you for having me on. And hi, Sage. I like that you're wearing a Brooklyn shirt. I'm from Brooklyn too. 

Rachael: All right. Well, let's welcome Eileen in. Thank you for being with us today, Eileen. So I'll hand over the mic to you, Sage. 

Sage: Okay, my first question is, what's the most exciting part of being a reporter? 

Eileen: So what I love about it is that every day I learn something new, for real. And I know that sounds like, how's that possible? But it really is, because I'm general assignment, which means I cover anything that happens. And you don't know everything. And so you literally learn something new every day, whether it's why is a law the way it is, or why isn't there a law for this, or why do people act a certain way and they explain themselves to you and you always learn a new perspective. 

Sage: That sounds like our principal. Every day on the loudspeaker, she'll say today is a great day to learn something new. That's how she finishes the morning announcements. So that's very funny. 

Eileen: Do you think you learn something new every day? 

Sage: Yeah, we learn a lot of math, English, science, all that. Um, another question is, what's the most, like, what's the biggest inconvenience about your job?

Eileen: The biggest inconvenience is that you cannot plan ahead. So you never know, like when you show up at work, you don't know where you're going to go, what story you're going to cover, whether it's going to be cold or raining, like, yes, you can check the forecast, but sometimes you'll be outside and you'll be dressed one way and then you need your other clothes.

When you leave for work in the morning, you don't know where you're going to end up and that's, that's, that's the hardest. part. I think that's a big challenge if you're a person who likes to have plans. 

Sage: I'm in the middle like it depends, like during the morning. I have this like a checklist that I have every morning I like to plan my day out. I don't really like surprises unless it's like a fun surprise if it's like, oh, you have to go here right now. Like that's not the type of surprises I like do they ever call you in on like your breaks? 

Eileen: Oh, yes all the time It's a job that you are always on you don't take off. 

Sage: What's one of your your most exciting story that you like the most like the story that you Like the most like a little summary of it? 

Eileen: So one of the most fun stories that I did was do you know who Bon Jovi is the singer?

Sage: No. 

Eileen: Okay, so he was a really big singer, I mean he still has concerts but I was such a big fan of his and then he was playing a free concert in Central Park so anyone could go on the Great Lawn. And I mean, Bon Jovi's not as big as Taylor Swift. He was never that big. But he was, he is still playing and he is big.

So he was doing that. I was told to cover it. So I went there and I had to find a place to park, left the car. Got out, walked with my microphone. I was working for 1010 WINS at the time. And then the people who are his publicists came over and they're like, okay, media, everyone line up and everyone gets two questions. That's it. Two questions to Bon Jovi. So I was like, Oh my gosh, what are my two questions? And I didn't want to ask the same questions if the other reporters had gone first and I figured, well, I'm not going to be first because like Entertainment Tonight and all the big networks would go. But Bon Jovi was sitting on a park bench and he's from New Jersey. So he saw me and saw the mic flag and said, I want 1010 WINS first. And so I got to go and interview him first. And he was like, I love your radio station. It's so great. And it was really cool. And I know you're probably going to ask me, what did I ask him? And I don't remember because I was kind of starstruck.

I was like, Oh my gosh, I like, I listened to this guy's music my whole life. And here he is. He was very nice. 

Sage: That sounds so fun. A question about Bon Jovi. What type of music does he do? 

Eileen: It's considered rock music. You could Google it. 

Sage: I'll remember later. Being a reporter sounds like a really fun job, like you get to hear all these stories.

Eileen: Yes. Yep. 

Sage: What inspired you to choose this career? 

Eileen: So, believe it or not, ever since I was like four or five years old, somehow I just knew I wanted to be a reporter and I actually, my parents, there's pictures of this somewhere. I would rewrite little newsletters that we get from school and I would do a broadcast with two of my brothers. So I was the anchor and my other brother was the other anchor. And then my brother who was very little was the reporter and we would play and put on a newscast. So I just, as I got older, I realized I really want to do this. I think I want to do it. 

Sage: I do stuff like that with my sisters too, but like not reporter stuff. We'll make videos of us dancing and stuff. We're trying like tricks and stuff. 

Eileen: You said you want to be president. Can I ask you why you want to be president? 

Sage: Well, it's not because of the power. The only thing I'm scared of if I ever become president is that I heard in Haiti there was an assassination to the president. So I'm kind of nervous about that if I become president and the reason why is because it's just like you get to make the laws you get to do so much exciting things like you know how when you're a citizen like us we don't really get Like, I know we get a say in what goes on, but, like, it's better when you can, like, like, you know what you say is gonna happen. Like, some of these laws in New York don't make sense. 

Eileen: Right. Yeah. So you would have the ability to, to change that and to really influence people. 

Sage: Yeah, um, another question. What advice would you have for girls my age? 

Eileen: My advice would be to not stray from what you know you want to do, focus on that and even as you get older other people around you might try to influence you negatively like oh, don't go to school today or don't oh, come on, don't go to practice. But you have to know in your heart that's what you want to do and you have to stick with it and not be influenced by people who maybe don't understand your path or don't have your best interest at heart.

Sage: What's your biggest hobby? 

Eileen: So if I really have a lot of free time, I like to travel, I love traveling. I spend a lot of time and money traveling. So like this summer, I'm going to go to Croatia. My husband and I are planning that trip now. So that's going to be per week. So I'm, if I'm not working, my hobby is planning my next trip and figuring out how to do it on a budget so that I can go a lot of places and still have a good time. 

Sage: If you're on like a trip, and there's something happening in that place while you're on your trip, will your job call you and tell you to go do that? 

Eileen: No, that they won't, because if I'm overseas, I tell them I'm, I mean I'm out of the country, my cell phone's not working. 

But if it was something big enough, like really big, I would actually call them and say, hey, I'm here. Let's say if there was, you know, an earthquake or something like that, I would say, Hey, I'm here. This is going on. 

Sage: Put me in. 

Eileen: Put me in. Put me in coach because that's like the part about being a reporter that you never, like, you can't shut it off. It's just you, you just want to know, right? So if I was somewhere and something was going on that big, I would be like, okay, and now it's so easy with cell phones and you have video, you can interview people at any time on your iPhone. So, you would have, I would have the ability to do it and report back to the station. 

Sage: Um, another question is, do you like, do you have any family traditions? 

Eileen: Yep. So every summer, since I was little, we would go upstate New York. So growing up in Brooklyn, you know what that's like. And then every summer we went for the same week. It was the last week in July. And we would go upstate to the Catskill mountains and in the Catskills. I loved it because I could roam free. I could go on hikes into the woods. We went on hay rides. You could walk and go hike to a creek. And it was just such a great week to be free and in the country and riding your bikes and no traffic and no noises. And you could see the stars at night. 

Sage: Yeah, I've only seen the stars like maybe three nights because in New York, there's a lot of pollution. The only time I've seen it is, I went to Haiti because that's where my dad's from. So I went to Haiti and we stayed there for like, well, we stayed there for a while. So every night there was like this open place where they had like seats and stuff and we would just look up until we got tired and then we went to bed. 

Eileen: Do you know if you saw the Big Dipper? 

Sage: I don't know what that looks like. I've, I've, I really wanted to try to learn like astronomy. That's our subject in science right now. And I think it's like the stars are so beautiful and all the planets are really cool and interesting. And I wanted to learn about that really bad. So now I'm going to finally learn. 

Eileen: Yeah. And it's also in the city. It's just, there's so many lights that you can't see because you know, when you're in the country, it's so dark. There's no lights from all of the buildings. So it's also easier to see it.

Sage: What is one thing you wanted to do in life, but you didn't know where to start? 

Eileen: So I would still like to write a book, but I have so many ideas that I don't, sometimes I don't know where to start. And then I think I want to make sure people want to buy it. So it has to be of interest where a lot of people would want to buy it. And then I think, how would I get it published? So those are the things I have time to figure out maybe later in life. 

Sage: Yeah. It's good when you're like, when you retire and you have nothing to do, that's a nice time to do that stuff. 

Eileen: That'll be my retirement plan. I'll write a book and I still have time to figure it out. I mean, I can write a couple of books. 

Sage: What is like something in life you think you need to work on like personally? 

Eileen: I think I need to balance my life a little bit better and spend more time with my family and friends. I work a lot, you know, there's that term workaholic. 

Sage: That's what my grandpa is. 

Eileen: Yeah, I might be a little bit guilty of that.

I might be a little bit of a workaholic I think and I think this would be in any profession if you were in the WNBA or anything or president? It's how do you balance your time between work and your family and your friends? That is really challenging, especially if you have a schedule that is not in line with other people's schedules, you know, so like if you were president, you'd be working even on the weekends.

Sage: Oh, I forget about that. 

Eileen: And I'm sure if you were in the WNBA, you'd be traveling all over to go to different games, and they might be on the weekends. Crazy. Those are the things that are challenging because then, you know, your friends want to see you, your family wants to see you. It's, it's, that's challenging and that's tough.

Yeah. So I'm trying to not work so much and when I'm not working be present with the people I'm with. So I'm not looking on my phone. I'm not, you know, thinking of something else. I'm trying, I have to be here in this moment and spend the time with them. 

Sage: Yeah, I would say for me, I really need to work on like, dealing with adversity better.

Because like, the littlest things, I need to stop letting them change my whole day, how my whole day ends up. 

Eileen: You mean your mood changes? Like if you're upset, you're upset for the rest of the day? 

Sage: Yeah, like, if anything, I let little things get to me. 

Eileen: Yeah, that is tough. And then you gotta try to turn it around or think big picture.

Like, that was just a small thing, and you gotta let it roll off your back, and think about big picture, that things are still really good, big picture, right? So this one little thing made you mad. But big picture, you can count your blessings in other ways, you know? 

Sage: Every morning, what my mom does, she'll text me, Nothing's the end of the world except the actual end of the world.

And that's what she texts me, to remind me. 

Eileen: That is a good quote. I like that one. 

Sage: Do you have a favorite quote from a book or something? Or like a movie, anything really? 

Eileen: Um, so I have, can I give you two answers? 

Sage: Yes. 

Eileen: Okay. So my favorite quote, and I'm just looking for it to see if it's on my desk here. Um, it's not, but it was from a little plaque that I saw at a flea market when I was very little. And it says, every dream in your heart lies within reach. If you just believe in yourself, every dream in your heart lies within reach. If you just believe in yourself. I thought that was so incredible because even if you start to doubt yourself, I would just look at it and be like, I can do it. Just believe in yourself. And the other quote that I like is actually Latin. It's because I took Latin when I was in high school. It's carpe diem and carpe diem means seize the day. So you always want not like literally seize the day. But seize the opportunity, seize the advantage. You're here, you're alive, enjoy the day. Do your best. Be productive. 

Rachael: Those are two really nice quotes. So Eileen, we have one last question for you. If you could go back and speak to your 13 year old self, what would you tell her? My 

Eileen: 13 year old self. I would say don't worry so much about what the other kids think. It seems like it's a really big deal that some people don't like you or they're not your best friend, you know, and why are there this, these other girls are all best friends and you're not in that little clique because within a couple of years, it doesn't matter.

You have your own thing. Friends and the clicks don't matter. So that's what I would say to my 13 year old self. It's going to be okay. This too shall pass. 

Rachael: Thank you so much for chatting with us today. 

Eileen: Thank you so much. And Sage, good luck. I love that you are so ambitious and you have all of these dreams and each dream in your heart lies within reach, believe in yourself. So I'm going to watch for you when you're going to be playing in the WNBA. And maybe one day I'll vote for you. 

Sage: Thank you.

CREDITS

Thanks for listening to Formative, a production of New York Edge. I’m your host, Rachael Gazdick. Our production partner for this series is CitizenRacecar. This episode was produced by Hager Eldaas, post-production by Alex Brouwer, production management by Gabriela Montequin, original music by Garrett Tiedemann. Thanks to the whole team at New York Edge for making this series possible. Never miss an episode by subscribing to the series at newyorkedge.org/formative or wherever you get your podcasts.