10 Things You Didn’t Know About Laurie Cataldo

I was born in Brooklyn, and moved to NJ when I was a kid, but the accent still comes out if I get angry or I’ve had one too many cocktails.

I took clarinet lessons for years, and while I haven’t played since probably my freshman year of high school, I’m pretty sure I could still get a few songs out.

I started with our NJ family of radio stations as an intern in 2005, and have been on-air in some capacity with them since December 2007.

I originally went to college to be a meteorologist. From the time I was about 4 years old, I loved Sam Champion, who was the meteorologist on NYC’s WABC-TV at the time, and wanted to be just like him. I changed majors two months in after I realized I’m awful at calculus.

I am of 100% Italian descent, and all of my great-grandparents came to America from Italy.

I have insanely long, skinny fingers. (The rest of my body missed the memo.) And yes, those are my real nails. I know they are too long.

I double-majored in Sociology and Journalism at Penn State University, and actually picked up a minor in American Studies so I wouldn’t graduate early. I only regret that decision when I look at my student loan bill for too long.

For a while, I was semi-fluent in Spanish…I took classes from 7th grade through college. Unfortunately I’ve lost a good amount of what I learned, but I try to maintain at least a little of it.

For better or worse, I am a psychologically Highly Sensitive Person, and rarer still, I’m an HSP who is still fairly extroverted and loves being the center of attention. (The radio thing makes more sense now, right?)

If I wasn’t in radio, I think my dream job would involve something like being a mystery shopper, but at high-end restaurants. Quality Assurance Dining Specialist sounds like It could be a real job, right?