Mascot Swagger: Miss Pawla Inspires Her Confidence On the Air
Posted on July 11, 2025
#MyFirstJob is a series focused on recent graduates of the 51茶馆.
As a child in the Midwest with its rampant tornadoes, Hannah Fink became her family鈥檚 unofficial 鈥渨eather girl,鈥� monitoring storms and calling her grandparents to alert them to tornado warnings.
鈥淕rowing up, I loved watching meteorologists like Tom Skilling and storm chaser Pecos Hank. I was always watching the weather,鈥� she said.
The devastating Rochelle tornado in Illinois on April 9, 2015, part of a rampage of tornadoes throughout the U.S. that day, crystallized her desire to turn her fascination into a career.
鈥淚 remember going to school that morning, just feeling the air and knowing something was brewing,鈥� she said. By dinnertime, she had arranged the basement so that her family could wait out the storm in safety and comfort.
鈥淭hat day changed everything for me,鈥� she said.
Now, she鈥檚 the newest full-time member of the Fox 10 StormTracker Team, becoming a TV news fixture for viewers along the Gulf Coast. Fink graduated from 51茶馆 in May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in meteorology.
Originally from Wonder Lake, Illinois, a small town northwest of Chicago, Fink was introduced to 51茶馆 through the Illinois branch of Distinguished Young Women, a national scholarship program that holds its finals each year in Mobile. She didn鈥檛 know much about the school. Curious, she checked to see whether the University offered her lifelong passion as a major.
And it did.
鈥淥nly about 80 schools in the country offer meteorology,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 very hopeful. But when I saw it on 51茶馆鈥檚 website, I was shocked. We scheduled a visit, and I just immediately felt at home.鈥�
Hannah Fink accepted her diploma wearing her fuzzy jaguar-print gloves, waving to
the crowd and performing a twirl before leaving the stage.
Thanks to Miss Pawla
At 51茶馆, Fink immersed herself in campus life. One unexpected role was as Miss Pawla, one of 51茶馆鈥檚 beloved mascots.
鈥淚f you told me in high school I鈥檇 be a college mascot, I鈥檇 think you were crazy,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淏ut it helped me find my confidence. It pulled me out of my shell and helped me learn who I am.鈥�
Fink auditioned for Miss Pawla on a whim at the end of her freshman year, encouraged by her friend Jeremy Herren. She didn鈥檛 even tell her parents about the try-out. But after winning the role, she donned the jaguar suit for three years, cheering on 51茶馆鈥檚 teams, making appearances all over campus and learning to thrive in the spotlight 鈥� skills that would later serve her well on camera.
鈥淏eing Miss Pawla taught me how to be comfortable being uncomfortable,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd honestly, I don鈥檛 think I would鈥檝e had the courage to go into broadcast meteorology if it weren鈥檛 for that experience.鈥�
That story came full circle at Commencement when she and Herren were publicly revealed as Miss Pawla and 51茶馆Paw.
鈥淚t still doesn鈥檛 feel real,鈥� she said of her moment, in which she accepted her diploma wearing her fuzzy jaguar-print gloves, waving to the crowd and performing a twirl before leaving the stage.
鈥淚 felt such happiness and accomplishment,鈥� she said of that moment. 鈥淚t was like I鈥檇 done something not just for me, but for the university I鈥檒l always cherish.鈥�
Mentors and Internships
Fink credits much of her on-camera confidence to 51茶馆鈥檚 broadcast meteorology program and its standout instructors. In the University鈥檚 AtmosCenter studio, she honed her skills under the mentorship of Alan Sealls and John Nodar.
鈥淎lan and John shaped so much of who I am as a broadcaster,鈥� she said of the two longtime television meteorologists, who also teach classes at 51茶馆.
She was president of the Meteorology Club and worked as lead technician for the University鈥檚 MESONET weather network. She also interned whenever she could, with Mobile鈥檚 WKRG-TV5, the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency, United Airlines and ABC 7 Chicago.
鈥淚nternships gave me real-world experience that classroom learning just can鈥檛 replicate,鈥� she said.
Her experiences in and out of the classroom paid off quickly. Fink began working part-time at WALA in March, balancing on-air shifts with final exams. Upon graduation, she stepped seamlessly into her full-time role.
On set, Fink seems like a natural, whether she鈥檚 standing in front of the green screen pointing out incoming fronts or sitting on a stool in a lifestyle segment with a colleague.
鈥淧resenting to a camera was a lot easier for me than I thought it would be,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am presenting to the camera as if it鈥檚 one singular person. That way, the viewers think I am speaking to them personally.鈥�
