Greater Opportunities

Dressed in a black overcoat and a button-down shirt, he sat with his back to the window while the light streamed through. He was talking to his friends, waiting for a hint as to who he was supposed to approach about an interview.

Some people are just set apart from others, whether it is because of their willingness to help others or their desire to push them to be the best they can be. If that sets a person above and beyond his peers, then that is exactly what Miguel Bedoy emanates.

Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, Bedoy came to Amarillo to further his opportunities and follow his lifelong dream of being in the mass communication field.

Out of a need to be near his family, Bedoy enrolled in Amarillo College's English as a Second Language program to improve his English so he could pursue his dream of being on television.

He said he believes AC offers "greater opportunities for ESL students."

Bedoy is working on a mass communication degree at AC.

Jill Gibson, a speech and mass communication instructor, has known Bedoy for a year and a half. She has had him in her Introduction to Mass Communication, Public Speaking and Broadcast News classes.

"Miguel is a hard-working and disciplined student who does a great job balancing a demanding job as a weather anchor for Telemundo with the demands of his studies," Gibson said. "Over the past three semesters, I have watched Miguel develop greater confidence in speaking English. He is very capable and professional."

In 2007, Bedoy joined the Telemundo family as a production assistant for the 5 o'clock news. After just a couple of months, he was offered the lead weatherman position and has been giving the weather at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. ever since.

Sulema Salazar, a former AC student, works with Bedoy at Telemundo. "He is a young, persistent guy who wants to make a positive difference in the Spanish media in Amarillo," she said.

Bedoy said he feels privileged to have had the opportunity to help people in the community in their own language.

"I feel concerned about the weather in Amarillo," he said. "I think the weather is the most important part of a newscast, because it affects people's health.

"I feel like I'm saving lives. I have been working in more ways to educate the community people, and especially Hispanics, developing emergency plans so that people can be prepared. I feel that there are lots of people here that don't speak English. I feel that if I don't help people, it could cause serious repercussions later."

Bedoy said when he first started working at Telemundo, the station focused mainly on just reporting the weather to the Hispanic community but now has more features about the weather and how it affects the community. The station focuses more on how to be prepared for severe weather in the Texas Panhandle.

Bedoy has taken it a step further and is in the process of starting an online weather center in Spanish so the Hispanic community will be informed about inclement weather in their own language. With weather that constantly changes in the Texas Panhandle, there is a need to have a local news team that focuses primarily on the Hispanic community.

"I want to do everything that can help the community to change the stereotype of Hispanics," Bedoy said. "All the bad things people that don't know about our culture, our lives and about immigration."

Few people have Bedoy's focus on what they must accomplish for their careers. Bedoy usually spends his weekends planning weather reports, organizing his office, papers and reports in order to provide better weather coverage.

"I am very concentrated on my job," he said.

Bedoy has presented "Hablando de la salud de la mujer," or "Speaking of Women's Health." He also presented "Step Up to Success" to high school and middle school students. The presentation shows middle school students what they can do to succeed.

Bedoy said he is interested in helping young people and does all he can to help other people in the community fulfill their dreams.