ABC’s Stephanie Ramos Built Her Career While Also Serving In The U.S. Army
Stephanie Ramos as told to Stephanie Cuepo Wobby
·7 min read
What ABC’s Stephanie Ramos Learned From The ArmyCourtesy of Stephanie Ramos / U.S. ARMY RESERVE
I’ve always known that I wanted to be a reporter. I started watching the news around 10th grade, and I was a big fan of WNBC. I learned that you could make so much of an impact on people’s lives as a reporter, and that really motivated me.
So, as soon as I got to college, I declared my major as broadcast journalism. While I was still in undergrad, 9/11 happened. As a native New Yorker, I wanted to do something for my country; I wanted to be a part of something bigger, and I was drawn to the military.
I initially planned to join the Marines, but I ran into an Army recruiter before my decision was final, and they were able to offer me a schedule that worked better for pursuing my education and military service at the same time. I started as an enlisted soldier; then, after completing basic training and receiving my master’s degree in mass communication and media studies, I was commissioned and became a public affairs officer. I started out as a private; now, I’m a major in the Army Reserve.
I built my reporting career while simultaneously serving in the U.S. Army.
I moved my way up the ranks while moving around the country: in South Carolina, I worked as an assignment editor for WIS-TV; in Kansas, as a television news reporter for WIBW-TV; in Missouri, as an anchor for KMBC; in Washington, D.C., as a multi-platform reporter for ABC.
During that time, I remained in the Reserve, reporting to units that corresponded with each new location, participating in training exercises and taking military courses. In 2008, while I was in Kansas, I deployed to Baghdad for the first time for a year, serving as a historical ambassador at Camp Slayer in Victory Base Complex.
Initially, finding out I was being deployed was a shock, but I also knew that that’s what I signed up for. I had about a month to pack everything up, tell my employer, then take off. My employer was very understanding; we even did a lot of stories about me leaving: the process and the steps you have to take to put your civilian life on hold before deploying to another country.
Being away from home was hard at first; it was lonely. What I tried to keep in mind during that year was not to become complacent. While deployed, I volunteered with the Iraqi Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, which was the most meaningful experience to me; they were so aware that they were in the middle of a war—they knew why we were there—and still, they just had so much joy. I could never get over that.
I came back having grown as a person, and with an appreciation for what we have in the U.S. and what I can live without.
A lot of the luxuries that we have here, you don’t have over there. I realized that I don’t need much, as long as I have my health and my routine.
Eventually, when I returned home, I settled into my current role as an ABC News national correspondent, covering stories that range from military issues—including the murder of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old U.S. soldier who went missing in April 2020 and was later found to have been killed by fellow solider Aaron David Robinson inside an armory at Fort Hood, Texas—to mental health crises in Latinx communities to Miss USA cheating allegations.
Balancing two careers at the same time has been challenging, but my time in the military is also what helped me in the news business. Anything can be thrown my way, and I’m just like, “Everyone calm down, we can do this. It’s okay.”
It’s not to say that being a reporter is nothing. No, it’s hard, especially when you’re slamming a script together and you only have an hour. But I don’t get that level of panic, and I think it may have something to do with that year in Iraq or my time in the military, because it takes a lot to get me frazzled.
Stephanie Ramos at Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin during her Army Reserve unit’s annual training in July 2022.Nik De La Pena, SFC / U.S. Army Reserve
My Army career also helped me grow into the type of person who will give my all, no matter my situation.
I go into things knowing I’m going to give it my best and it’ll work out. That drive came back to me when I was based in Topeka, Kansas, and it was time for me to search for my next station. I wanted to move to a station in Kansas City, even though you don’t typically see a jump from small-market Topeka to Kansas City, which is a huge market.
I thought, “Well, that’s my goal. That’s where I need to end up. That’s what I’m going to push for.” I made multiple trips to the TV station, knocked on their door, asked to see the news director without an appointment. It was very risky to be that annoying, but I was. I sent emails to her. I said, “I’m ready; this is where I want to work, this is where I want to be.” After about six months of that back-and-forth, I finally got an interview. I met with her, and I got the job.
I would say that that’s my approach to a lot of things: Just go for it. You have to recognize your unique perspective and advocate for it. Having a background in the military, I’ve been able to integrate my experiences into my reporting work.
When I redeployed to Iraq, my husband, Emio Tomeoni, and I produced a documentary, “To Baghdad and Back,” which aired on WIBW-TV and received a Kansas Association of Broadcasters Award. With the Vanessa Guillén story, I pushed to cover it. I thought, from that very first month she went missing, that it should be on the news.
Diversity in reporting—hiring reporters with unique perspectives—is so important.
As woman of color, a mom, and a veteran, I feel my background makes a big difference in how I see and tell stories. For me, it’s not just reporting, but reporting with context. With the Vanessa Guillén story, I went into it with a background in military operations—knowing what’s normal in the Army, what’s not, and what’s in the process of changing.
As a mom, I can tackle stories with a different approach in how I can communicate with family members who may be going through the worst time of their lives. As a Latina, I’m able to pitch stories that may otherwise be overlooked. All experiences work together to make me a better journalist who understands where people from all backgrounds are coming from, which helps me better tell their story.
My ultimate goal is to help people, in both my careers. Now that I have kids, I also want to be a class mom and volunteer at their school. It’s a lot, and to manage it all I have to take care of myself too. I set time aside to just think and do nothing; sometimes, silence is helpful.
Running is also something that I would consider to be self-care. I may not have all the time in the world to take a class or lift weights, but if I can just get a run in, I can clear my mind and I always finish feeling a hundred times better. Always. When I prioritize my health, I know I can show up the way I need to for my family and work.
I hope my legacy is that of a reporter who cared about each and every story and interview. I don’t take this job lightly, whatsoever. Every word matters, and I’ve seen it over the years, running into folks who will remember one particular story that I did five months ago. And it surprises me each time; I think, “Oh my gosh, that’s right. This is why I do this.”
Hearst Owned This story was created as part of Project Tell Me in partnership with the U.S. Army. Project Tell Me is a series running across Women’s Health and Men’s Health to celebrate the contributions of U.S. Army veterans and spotlight some of their voices.
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