It's Not About the Destination, It's About the Journey: Andy Malnoske

Every day when Andy Malnoske would drive into school at Shippensburg University, he would see the sign that read: Home of the 1990 USA Champions.

This was the sign for the Shippensburg Little League team that stole the hearts of the people in Pennsylvania and the entire country. This was also a sign that would eventually drive Malnoske to his true love for sports.

As a graduate student, Malnoske strove to be the best and nothing less than that. He was an avid sports guy who was influenced by the work ethic of his family, yet he wasn’t entirely sure about his path. That was until his interest in the Shippensburg Little League team showed him the power of sports storytelling and the impact it could have on people.

He embraced it immediately.

“Wouldn’t it be cool to do a ‘let’s see where they are now’ type of thing? So that was always on my mind,” Malnoske said. “I made that documentary and that really changed my life.”

This would jump start an award winning career for Malnoske who has found his niche at WETM in Elmira, NY. There, Malnoske has been at the helm of the sports department where he reports and anchors.

His experience in reporting and storytelling have got him some hardware as well. He’s taken home an Emmy for his excellence in journalism and remains the only Edward R. Murrow Award winner in Elmira history for sports reporting. But for Malnoske, the accolades aren’t the important thing.

“I actually do a lot of my editing packages at home; off the clock; unpaid. It’s never been about the money,” he said. “I think when you let things like that creep up on you…that’s when things start becoming not as pure.”

Ironically, Elmira was not the place where Malnoske originally wanted to end up. As a wrestling enthusiast, his dream was to be an announcer for the WWE. After being a two-time finalist for that job and falling short, Malnoske points to how rejection in his life has been a blessing.

“Everybody gets rejected. It’s just the way of the world and a tough pill to swallow,” he mentioned. “But with rejection, there’s always that silver lining…the only way you’re ever going to get better is with time. Nobody is born great.”

At the end of the day, Malnoske finds himself in the best position he could’ve imagined. It’s a place where he can make an impact and tell stories for the people who thrive off of emotion and realness. It’s the resilience that has made him who he is today.

“A real champion in life always gets back up,” he said.