Erin Hawley

Erin joined WMBB in August of 2008 as a General Assignment Reporter to bring a little Mississippi charm to Panama City. From Oxford, MS, she graduated from The University of Mississippi in May of 2008 with a major in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Religion.

Growing up, Erin always thought she would become an ophthalmologist, but a tour of the CNN studios in Atlanta at the age of 16 made her realize this was her dream job.

While attending Ole Miss, Erin worked at the university’s student-run news station, NewsWatch. She began interning there her senior year of high school and was hired as an anchor the summer before she started her freshman year of college. She continued to anchor and report all four years of school, and went on to become the News Director her junior year and Station Manager her senior year.  A few of her proudest awards include winning first place at the Southeastern Journalism Conference for Best News Anchoring in 2007 and her first Mississippi Associated Press Award which she was awarded just a few months later. She was inducted into Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges and received a prestigious Mississippi Association of Broadcasters scholarship.

During her senior year of college, Erin decided to do something new and entered and won a preliminary for Miss Mississippi America. She traveled around Mississippi speaking to schools and young women about her platform, Project J.E.W.E.L., the Journey Empowering Women in Effective Leadership. She competed for the title of Miss Mississippi in June of 2008 and was ecstatic (and incredibly surprised!) to receive 3rd Alternate her very first time to compete.

Erin is fascinated by religion. She hopes to someday become a religious correspondent specializing in Eastern and Middle Eastern religions and also has plans to make a documentary for students learning about new religions. She especially enjoys learning more about Islam and Buddhism.

Erin is incredibly excited about her new life on the coast. In her spare time, she loves doing anything outdoors, especially tennis, camping, and her newest favorite activity, sea kayaking.

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