Felicia Michelle finds ‘family and community’ at WISH-TV
Life.Style.Live! host Felicia Michelle is less than a week into her new role but she’s already feeling right at home in the Circle City. She recently stopped by WISH-TV’s Daybreak to get better acquainted with her new colleagues.
“We got to go out on Friday after work. I was like, Oh, wow! They invited me somewhere,” emphasized Michelle.
The host made her first appearance over the weekend at the Indy Juneteenth Foodways Festival at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site.
During her chat with the Daybreak team, Michelle learned that she has several connections to her new colleagues. Michelle previously worked at the NBC affiliate in South Bend, IN a station familiar to Daybreak Meteorologist Tara Hastings.
Hastings stated “I used to intern there. So, I was very excited to see you [Michelle] coming down from there.”
Michelle served as Anchor/Reporter for the station after arriving from a two-year stint in Los Angeles as a Red Carpet Correspondent.
“I had never been in Indiana until I got that job, and I was like, Hoosiers are the best. They’re some of the most giving, thoughtful, philanthropic people that I’ve ever met, and I’ve lived in a lot of different places. So, I was like, I gotta stay in Indiana because everyone is great here.”
Michelle also shares a connection with Storm Track 8 Meteorologist Ryan Morse through another one of her stops, Pennsylvania. Both went to Penn State University.
Before Michelle’s time at Penn State, she was an East Coast girl. The Life.Style.Live! host grew up in Glassboro, New Jersey, about 25 miles outside of Philadelphia.
“I’m definitely the youngest of the family, youngest in charge of, but that kind of led me to have a bigger voice because you’re trying to make sure you like, hey, guys, remember I’m over here,” Michelle said.
In her quest for attention, she realized her passion for performing.
Michelle explained she was a weird kid. “I’d be like, OK, like let’s put on a show now or I’d do some crazy makeup or something. Like it was nothing for me to walk out and have made some crazy look or vibe for myself and just make my family laugh.”
Like most people in the news and entertainment industry, Michelle got her first gig far away from the comforts of home, which brings us to another connection. This one to Daybreak Anchor Jeremy Jenkins, who was born in a small Arkansas town that borders the state of Louisiana.
In 2020, Michelle was the Morning Anchor for the NBC-affiliate in Monroe, Louisiana which is 40 miles South of where Jenkins grew up.
Jenkins explained, “My parents still live in the town… So, if you were ever on-air down there, we probably saw you at some point.”
Michelle is thrilled to be among the talent and WISH-TV and to have found commonality with her new colleagues. She says it’s like having a second family away from home.
“I don’t think I could have asked for better opportunities. So, I’m pretty pumped,” Michelle said.
Speaking of family, that brings us to our last connection to Daybreak Anchor Scott Sander. Both Michelle and Sander have cats that share a name. Michelle’s Cat is named after the actor Morris Chestnut.
Sander explained, “I got a cat named Chestnut. Not named for a hunky actor. Just plain old chestnut.”
Life.Style.Live! airs weekdays at 10 a.m. and noon (ET), covering a wide range of topics designed to reach out to the hearts and minds of diverse households across Indiana and all of America.
All Indiana is the daily infotainment show at 4 p.m.