Lives of Consequence
Steve Petyerak '93
Producer, The Weather Channel
Emmy winner Steven Petyerak ’93 has experienced some of the nation’s worst disasters as the producer for The Weather Channel’s leading meteorologist Jim Cantore. In doing so, Petyerak has not only performed his job but he has aided those in need.
Currently covering the advance of Hurricane Irma in Florida, Petyerak recently returned home after assisting the National Guard in rescue missions during his coverage of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. “We made a point of being in places where we can help people,” says Petyerak, who assisted those in need reach lifeboats and air-baskets for helicopter evacuations, and drove evacuees to higher ground. “We put the blinders on emotionally and tried to help people get where they needed to go.”
Aiding communities is inextricably linked to covering weather disasters and for Petyerak, assisting those in need is the most important component of his work. “It’s really more about the humanitarian effort,” says Petyerak, who shies away from recognition and believes that he simply has typical reactions in atypical situations.
“The most important reason we help is that we want to get out the right message to the public. When I can blend the perfect public message with a humanitarian effort, that’s the kind of day you want to have had when you go home— or in many cases, back to my hotel room,” he says.
Petyerak’s current role is the latest in a significant career in television and film. He joined The Weather Channel in 2014 after five years as a producer for ESPN’s SportsCenter, a major milestone for the former Hobart hockey player. He previously served as a producer on CNBC’s Fast Money and ABC’s Good Morning America, for which he won two Emmy Awards for his work. His career in television broadcasting began in 1999 when producer Kellie King ’94 invited Petyerak to join CBS’s Inside Edition as a story coordinator. The shorter production cycles and pace of storytelling appealed to Petyerak after several years of developing scripts and assisting filmmakers on blockbuster hits like Independence Day and Jurassic Park. “It all sort of paid off for itself.”
During his time at Hobart, Petyerak majored in English with a concentration in film and television studies, a passion nurtured through classes and discussions with Associate Professor of English Elisabeth Lyon. “Professor Lyon had a very positive impact on me,” Petyerak says. A member of Theta Delta Chi, Petyerak also received the Emblem Award, the D. Michael Hazelton ’83 Memorial Trophy and the four-year Letter Award for athletic achievements on the hockey team.