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Nancy Leal

Dobie High School
Pasadena ISD

Nancy Leal is living out her dream—and she has the Emmy to prove it. For much of her life, the 1995 Dobie High School graduate wanted to go into television. Leal made that dream come true as an anchor and reporter for KCED in Denver, Colorado, where she won an Emmy for a report on parents who move to America from Mexico and must change their parenting styles.

The goal of her report was to illustrate that people who live in Mexico have completely different parenting styles than people who live in America. When people move to America, Leal said they have to become aware of a whole new set of rules when it comes to discipline—or they will ultimately face the possibility of losing their children. Leal’s report was the first story in Spanish to win an Emmy in the region and the first Emmy ever for her station.

Leal, who graduated from the University of Houston, started her career as an intern at Houston’s Univision affiliate, Channel 45. It was there that she got a glimpse into her future as a news anchor. She is now the youngest news anchor in Colorado and the only one to hail from Mexico.

Leal, the oldest of three children, was born in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1977. The family lived in Monterrey until 1989, when they moved to Pasadena. She attended Miller Intermediate School, where she struggled to learn English. “It was very hard for me to learn English because I had been speaking Spanish my entire life,” said Leal. “I also had to learn how write in English, which was even more challenging than learning to speak it.”

After junior high, Leal attended South Houston High School in ninth and 10th grade, before moving to Dobie High School for her junior and senior years. While attending Dobie, Leal met chemistry teacher Bea Borja, who served as a great influence to her. By the time she was a senior, Leal already had her heart set on being on television. She knew that, with hard work and determination, her dream would one day become reality.

“Nancy’s dream was to become exactly what she is now,” Borja said. “She would often say to me, ‘One of these days, Mrs. Borja, you will be seeing me on television.’ I am so glad that she is living out that dream.”

“Although [Bea Borja’s] chemistry class was very hard, she helped me so much. I didn’t understand chemistry, and I didn’t understand how I would ever use it because I knew I wanted to go into television—but she helped motivate me to do better because she knew I could.”

—Nancy Leal

Source: Pasadena ISD