NHS grad now mingles with the stars

Not everyone could make that grand leap from Newton to New York City and working a gig as a contributing correspondent for The Today Show to boot. But Sara Haines’ bubbly personality has made it work. She was back in Newton last week, and she talked to students of her old alma mater about her experiences.

In town with her parents, Sandy and Dick Haines, who now reside in Palm Coast, Fla., to attend a wedding, the 1996 Newton Senior High School graduate took time, at the request of NHS Principal Bill Peters, to talk to the high school student body. She talked about her job with NBC, as well as her philosophy on life and what it takes to do what you want in the world.

“Clearly, I have an itch for theatrics,” Haines told the students.

Involved in plenty of extracurricular activities during high school, she decided she wanted to move to the east coast right after high school, attending Smith College in Northampton, Mass., majoring in government. She moved to New Jersey to live with her brother after graduation and commuted to New York City to look for a job.

“New York was a culture shock,” she said.

Seeing a program for a page at NBC, she got into the program, even though it was very competitive.

“I just decided to work hard,” she said. “I got the job because I was willing to do what no one else wanted to do.”

She spent her days working the page job while taking acting classes in the evenings. She was at the NBC studios during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

“We ended up walking to the NBC studios at 4 a.m.” she said.

From 2002 through 2009, Haines handled the bookings for The Today Show and took every opportunity to learn every aspect of the operations at NBC.

“I attended pitch meetings. I pitched everything. I learned how to produce. I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to talk to talent. If I learn everything, I’m going to be more marketable,” she told the students.

After seven years at the studio, she figured she probably wasn’t going to become an actress, and when NBC indicated it wanted some original material for its website, Haines was there. She teamed up with a producer to interview singer Chris Brown, and the segment got a good response. That led to a segment on the Hoda and Kathy Lee hour on The Today Show, and Haines became the social media maven of the show.

Finally, she was offered a contract to be a contributing correspondent, and Haines said she has pitched the idea of doing a story on corn detasseling, which may be a part of a future show.

A typical day for Haines at NBC begins in the makeup chair at 8:30 a.m., then to the set and on the show from 10 to 11 a.m. She may shoot some film in New York City or shoot a promotional piece for Xbox. Then she may spend some time pitching ideas for other segments.

Another NHS grad, Tom Weeks, also has worked alongside her at NBC and was her outside segment producer. Weeks is now at Universal Studios.

Haines told the students that it’s not so important to know what you want to do as a career as it is to just try things you enjoy doing.

“It’s never too late to start applying yourself,” she said. “You don’t have to get all As in school. You just have to try. I recommend hugging a teacher today, because you’re going to miss them so much.

“And try to be nice to each other; calling people names won’t do anything for you,” she added.

Haines said she has enjoyed her job because it has been a great challenge.

“This job has forced me to live outside the lines, and it’s been amazing,” she said.

John Jennings can be contacted at (641) 792-3121 ext. 425 or via email at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.