A well-placed connection has helped Dominic Miranda back to his home state of Indiana. Miranda is joining WTHR TV in Indianapolis as a sports anchor/reporter after two years in Florida.
“I certainly was ready to get back to the Midwest and closer to family. I had been monitoring job leads pretty religiously and looking for that kind of opportunity,” he states.
Of course, there’s also this about Miranda’s new position: ” Covering the Colts, Pacers, IU, Purdue, Butler, and the Indy 500 is a dream come true,” he grins.
Help from a mentor
Miranda has been at WCTV in Tallahassee since June 2021. In early February, a mentor of his notified Miranda that WTHR was looking. “I had seen that through the STAA Job Leads and had applied immediately,” Miranda recalls. The mentor mentioned Miranda’s name to WTHR Sports Director Dave Calabro. Miranda reached out to him. “[Dave] immediately called me and let me know he had passed my information along to the News Director, and it all just kind of went from there.”
Mirada’s story illustrates the value of relationships. His mentor is someone who once hired Miranda for an internship. “We’ve remained in contact for nearly eight years now. He has been instrumental in helping me along the way. You never know who can help you when the time is right.
“I owe it to STAA for putting this opening on my radar, and a long time connection for getting my foot in the door. Your talent is a huge part of it, don’t get me wrong. But in highly sought after positions in top 30 markets, you need some help.”
Though Miranda is leaving South Florida, he’s grateful for the growth he experienced there. “My storytelling has improved tremendously. Ad-libbing, live reporting, and overall on-camera presence has improved as well. I cannot thank Ryan Kelly, my sports director, and Sabrina Fuller, my news director, enough for taking a chance on me. The freedom I was given to really come into my own on camera was very necessary and played a huge role in my improvement.”
Focus on family
As much as Miranda enjoyed Tallahassee, he’s eager to return to Indiana and to his family. “Family is the most important thing in my life. Without them and their support, I wouldn’t feel confident in having the ability to accelerate my career to a top 40 market. They mean the world to me and I certainly wanted to move closer to them.”
There is another reason Miranda is excited return to the Midwest. “I’m getting married in September. My fiance has been so supportive of my career. She’s currently living in Chicago. I absolutely wanted to move closer to home so we could begin our life together living close to our respective families.”
Keeping current
An important factor in Miranda’s job search was keeping his reel updated. “After every sports season, I like to go back and put together a reel, just so when the time is right, I have something to send immediately. That way, I’m not wasting a day or two putting together a recent reel, and risking not getting my name in front of decision makers as quickly as possible. Sometimes that’s the difference between getting a job or not.”
Miranda’s career has been on an upward trajectory since he joined STAA in the final semester of his senior year at DePauw University in Indiana. First it was a job at WTHI TV in Terre Haute, IN. Two years later, it was onto Tallahassee. He remains an STAA member for one big reason.
“Job leads, job leads, and job leads,” he laughs. “I cannot stress enough how important getting those [regularly] has been. It allows you to jump on opportunities immediately. I think the STAA membership is worth it soley for the job leads. Not to mention all the other incredible critiques, tips, tricks, advice, and help it provides.
“Every college student that reaches out to me asking for advice, I recommend them to become a member at STAA. The growth I’ve seen in myself since I joined STAA as a senior in college in 2019 to now has been substantial. I cannot thank [STAA Owner Jon Chelesnik] enough for his help along the way. He’s so accessible and is always willing to give you advice and help you along your journey. For someone as busy as I think we all know he is, that’s pretty cool.”
He adds, “I feel extremely lucky and extremely grateful for STAA. And for my long time mentor.”