Natalie Tripp

After growing up in a small, country town in Utah, moving to El Paso has been quite the change- but I love it! The journalism bug bit me in high school while I was writing a humor column about the quirks of teenage life for the local newspaper. Although I started out in print journalism, broadcasting quickly stole my heart during my first semester at Brigham Young University. I cut my teeth on Utah’s PBS affiliate as a reporter, anchor, weather girl, and executive producer, and I also spent two years on the radio morning newscast as an anchor and reporter for Classical 89.1 KBYU-FM.  During my senior year at BYU, I took first place at the 2011 William Randolph Hearst National Championship for reporting and I also won the 2011 Gracie Allen award for best news anchor.

I enjoyed going to school and working just an hour away from my family in Utah, but now I am thrilled to be part of the strongest news team in El Paso where the weather is warm and the desert landscape offers great outdoor adventure. When I’m not being a news junkie, I enjoy cooking, theatre, great movies, and college sports (especially a good rivalry game)!

If you have a story idea, send it my way at Natalie.Tripp@kfoxtv.com.
You can also follow me on Twitter: @NatalieKFOX14.

Q&A

What year did you join KFOX?
2011

What was your first TV appearance?
I was a sophomore in college reporting for the KBYU ElevenNEWS about a teenager who was training to be an Olympic figure skater.

Alma Mater:
Brigham Young University

Where is your hometown?
Grantsville, Utah

What was your favorite TV show then?
I really enjoy Bones and Modern Family, but I’m probably the biggest Boy Meets World fan out there. When none of those are on, my TV is usually stuck on TLC.

What was the first thing you ever wanted to be?
I really wanted to be an archaeologist, but then I realized that Indiana Jones is fiction.

How might someone have described you in high school?
Over-achieving. Yep I was the teacher’s pet (not one of my proudest moments). I went to a small school (my graduating class was around 130) so it was easy to be a Student Body Officer, National Honor Society President, Editor in Chief of the School Paper, and Co-Captain of the tennis team all in the same year.

What was your first job?
When I was 13, I took a job as a paper girl for the Tooele Transcript Bulletin- way before I even considered being a journalist.

What was your first job in television?
Reporter for the KBYU ElevenNEWS

What might people be surprised to know about you?
I love animals (that’s not the surprise) and in college I helped teach a wildlife biology class about Birds, Bats, and Bears. I frequently got to tag along on research trips that involved waking up hibernating mother bears- scary, but holding cuddly baby bear cubs is pretty awesome.

What would be a perfect day for you?
Playing on the beaches of the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii with my family.

Favorites

Favorite book: Harry Potter, Mistborn, Hunger Games

Favorite movie: Anything classic (Indiana Jones), inspiring (The Blind Side), Quotable (Megamind), or a great romantic comedy (Hitch). Don’t make me pick!

Favorite activities: Cooking, Hiking, Theatre, Tennis, Reading, and Playing the piano. A perfect weekend for me includes good food, good friends, and a good game.

Favorite food: Tex-Mex

Favorite music: I’m kind of a show tunes nerd (they take up 85% of my iPod storage), but I also love the Goo Goo Dolls, Colbie Calliat, and John Mayer.

Favorite travel destination: It’s a tie between Grantsville, Utah and Hawaii.