Thank you, Hoda Kotb

A chance encounter with Hoda Kotb in Pasadena sparks a heartfelt reflection on her impact on careers and lives. From one former intern and forever fan… here is my story of gratitude for her authenticity and inspiration AS HODA WRAPS UP HER TIME AT TODAY

Life has a way of creating moments and meetings that stop you in your tracks.

Running into Hoda Kotb was a recent one of mine.

We both were in Pasadena, California over the New Year; I was on a very quick trip and Hoda was there to co-host the Rose Bowl Parade just days before planning to step down from her role as TODAY co-anchor.

Ever pause to think about timing? I love that I had one extra cup of coffee in the lobby that morning and that I had one more task on the to-do list before walking back down the hallway at the very moment Hoda was doing the same. We locked eyes, both smiled and then I realized who I was smiling at…

I froze for a second. Then said what I - and I imagine so many of you who watch TODAY or know her - feel.

“I love you!” I said.

“Thank you,” Hoda replied with a laugh.

I mean, what else do you say to the cream of the crop?

I love Hoda for all of the reasons America loves her. She is genuine. She is strong. She is smart. She follows her heart. She shares her heart. And to those of us who are journalists, she is the gold standard - the one who can nail any interview and deliver news/feature/sports/arts/political coverage amazingly well while making all kinds of viewers feel comfortable. On-air and in person, she is the friend you wish you had.

“You helped guide my career,” I said.

Hoda looked at me a bit confused as I’m pretty sure she was pretty sure she had never met me before.

I had met Hoda before, but it was 24 years ago. I interned at Dateline NBC the summer of 2000, two years after Hoda joined Dateline as a correspondent. My internship role was to assist producers with story research and support production teams with studio tapings and field shoots, one being a shoot with Hoda.

*Dateline NBC Shoot | Brooklyn, NY | July 31, 2000*

I forget details about the story but I’ll never forget the shoot. I joined Hoda’s producers way before the sun rose one summer morning under the Brooklyn Bridge with the NYC skyline behind us. One of my jobs was to find a cafe that was open to stock up on coffee for the crew (I was in college so not a coffee drinker at the time but two short years later, during my first anchor gig in Lake Charles, Louisiana, I quickly learned how precious coffee was to those of us in TV news).

My other job on this Dateline shoot was to walk the reporter walk. The production crew asked me to test the microphone while taking the steps Hoda would soon take in her “standups” - the shots in a news story when the reporter appears on camera.

“Just keep walking and talking, Paige,” the audio technician told me.

I had no idea what to say over and over on the mic so they could test the audio but I do remember repeatedly saying the words to Michigan’s fight song ‘The Victors’ because I knew those words by heart and knew I wouldn’t get nervous and create dead air if I just kept repeating those lyrics. I knew better than to sing them as I have a terrible singing voice. The crew enjoyed it. Probably a first for them.

*Paige Kornblue’s first standup! July 31, 2000*

*Dateline NBC Production Shoot | July 31, 2000 | Correspondent Hoda Kotb, Producer Mary Ann Rotundi and Intern Paige Kornblue*

I did not share ALL of these details with Hoda that moment in the Pasadena hotel hallway. Her daughters were piling out of their room at the time and being a single mom of three young kiddos myself, I know how when kids are ready, it’s time to go.

It was not the moment to mention all of the thoughts in my head - how well so many of us can relate to her, how she brings us into each interview so naturally, the power of watching her power through her cancer diagnosis, her two beautiful adoptions and motherhood and how she explained her admirably amicable split with her fiance so perfectly to the public. That last one replays over and over in my mind, four years after my divorce and throughout the relationships, or shall we say ‘situationships,’ I’ve held since.

“They say sometimes relationships are meant to be there for a reason, or a season or for a lifetime. And I feel like ours was meant to be there for a season,” Hoda had said to co-host Jenna Bush Hager.

For my one short moment with Hoda last week, I did try to explain how she was a major influence in my broadcasting career, how I chose to take the news reporter track after a morning out on that shoot with her and how I’ll forever appreciate the 20 minutes she took to chat with me in her office - a meeting courtesy of one of the talented producers I shadowed that summer (thank you, Josh Weiner!).

Hoda paused and then asked me, “What is your name?”

It was now my turn to laugh. All of that and I had forgotten to introduce myself.

I didn’t need Hoda to know my name. I didn’t need a photo with her. I just wanted to thank her, congratulate her on her phenomenal career thus far and her decision to take this next step in her journey. I later explained to my kids how her role is kind of like my ESPN job but double that. Morning show work is extremely intense. I did it in local news for nearly a decade. You love it but you live it. Last fall, Hoda decided to step away from her role as TODAY co-anchor while “at the top of the wave” to spend more time with her family, although she plans to remain part of the NBC family.

Just one more reason to love her.

Hoda Kotb’s last day at TODAY is January 10, 2025. TODAY is planning a special celebration for her last day as well as moments dedicated to her on TODAY throughout this entire week. (P.S. I also happen to have a great Jenna Bush Hager story to share from the early 2000’s, but that’s for another day.) What a team. All of you. Cheers to Hoda & Jenna and TODAY!