Luz Nereida Vélez

She was accepted, at the young age of 15, to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, from where she hoped to graduate with a medical degree as a surgeon.

It was while there that she got her first job as an anchorwoman, when she was hired by a local radio station, WOLE, which covered the areas of Mayagüez and Aguadilla.

She wanted to enroll at Syracuse University, but decided, during a vacation trip to Puerto Rico, to telephone WAPA-TV from San Juan's airport and ask if there were any internships available.

During the drive from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, to her hometown of Mayagüez, Vélez told her father to detour and make a stop at the WAPA-TV building.

[4] On June 13, 2022, Vélez, along with Sylvia Gómez, Cyd Marie Fleming and Eddie Miró (who received a Gold Circle Award for his fifty years on Puerto Rican television) was recognized with a Silver Circle Emmy award for her 48 years as a television reporter.