MARCH 2018 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 15
COVER STORY
higher rates change the investment
environment. How? That’s the big
question, and that’s why markets
have been more volatile.
LIP: I know Power Lunch is airing
soon. Do you have time to eat
lunch with your schedule?
ML: Well, to me, I didn’t have
lunch I would be a hangry person,
for sure. I always make sure I eat
something, especially if I don’t
eat before Power Lunch; the next
opportunity is at 3 p.m. which
is just way too long. I lead a
very regimented life, as you can
imagine with my schedule. I have
a window of time to eat. I have a
window of time to do makeup. I
have a window of time to go to the
bathroom. At 3:30 p.m. I have to be
in a car to get to the NASDAQ on
time for Fast Money. It is important
for me to stick to the schedule
because your performance on air
is going to be impacted. If you are
hungry, you may not be completely
engaged in what is going on.
LIP: How was it growing up in
Great Neck?
ML: I grew up on Arbor Street. I
don’t have family that is still there.
I have an older sister and a younger
brother. My parents moved to the
city in 2004. They waited until all
of us graduated high school and
started college. I went to Saddle
Rock for elementary school and
Great Neck South for middle school
and high school. I feel like nothing
exists from my era. It seems the
stores are more upscale. We used to
go to Gino’s Pizza and the deli on
Lakeville Road. I don’t think it is
still there. Sometimes my mom and
I drive through to see how the town
has changed or just see the outside
of the house for fun.
LIP: Can you share a childhood
memory?
ML: One of my first professional
journalism jobs is when I worked
for the Great Neck Record. That
was my afterschool job during high
school. I wrote articles, and it was a
very valuable lesson, regarding the
importance of community. Initially,
I covered the PTA and then sports.
I love writing and to go out to talk
to people in the community. It was
fun. It was a great experience. And
it was a great way to earn money.
I think it was 20 bucks an article.
It was a lot of money even looking
back. My father would have to
drive me to the PTA meetings, and
sometimes they were four to five
hours. He would joke that he would
get a cut from my paycheck.
LIP: You were assistant managing
editor of Harvard’s Crimson. Were
you the first in the family to go to
an Ivy League school?
ML: My father went to Columbia.
My father said to me, “If you
don’t get into Harvard, Yale or
Columbia, then you have to go to a
SUNY school.” For him, education
was very important, but it was also
important for us to look at the big
picture and see how much schools
would cost and how much debt we
would have when we graduated
and if that would be worthwhile. I
loved Harvard. It was my parents’
dream for me to go there. It was my
dream. I had a picture of Harvard
Yard with the commencement flags
over my mirror all throughout high
school because I knew that was the
school I wanted to go to, so getting
in was the fulfillment of my dream
and my parents’ dream…To go
to a place like Harvard and know
that you can cut it there was very
empowering for later on. I think
that is one of the reasons why I was
willing to take the risk of going into
TV news. It seemed like the career
that had the most unsure path
to success. I was willing to take
it because of this notion that if I
made it there then I can do this and
I can do that; I can do whatever I
set my mind too.
LIP: Are your siblings in the same
industry as you?
ML: No, I’m the outlaw. We are just
doing different things. My sister
is a lawyer with the Department
of Justice. She is six years older
than I and she is just sort of a
trailblazer regarding her career
path. My parents wanted a lawyer
and a doctor in the family. She is
a lawyer, and I was supposed to be
the doctor. I thought I was going
to be the doctor. In high school, in
addition to liking journalism, I did
all sorts of lab research over the
summers. I had this real interest,
and I was good at science and
math too. I decided I would give
journalism a whirl. My younger
brother lives in Queens. He’s a
small business owner, and my sister
lives in Tribeca. She lives in the
same building as my parents.
LIP: Being a young person today
is not easy; can you share some
wisdom?
ML: I think it is important for
you to be your own judge. Take
criticism. Factor it all in, but, at
the end of the day you live with
yourself. You live with your
own decisions. You are your own
ultimate judge. Just keep that
in mind with anything you do.
Especially in this day where there
is Instagram and Snapchat and
a lot of fear of missing out and
comparing your life to others. That
is not how you should live your life
at all. At the end of the day, it is all
about if you think you did a good
job and if you think you are a good
person and that you are living up to
your true potential.
LIP: You have accomplished so
much professionally and now being
newly married. What is next for
you?
ML: That is probably the hardest
question anyone can ever ask
me. That’s another chapter of my
life. It is exciting to me to start
this new life with somebody else.
Professionally, when I am asked
that question, I think the person
expects me to say some new big
job or dream job, but I enjoy
what I do right now, fortunately,
at CNBC. I have always been
given new challenges whether it
be a documentary or different
show. Right now, I am shooting
a documentary on bitcoin and
blockchain, and that is exciting. I
have always had new things to do
and new ways to stretch myself, so I
am not looking to go anywhere else
or go into a different role.
LIP: Do your friends ask you for
stock tips?
ML: Yes! And I say to them, “Do
you want to take stock tips from
someone who is not allowed stock
themselves?”
Melissa Lee says staying well read keeps her prepared to report live on
breaking news from NASDAQ in Times Square. (Photo by Bob Giglione)