When Lucy joined the ranks of the Channel 4 news team in 2004 she was no stranger to news or WWL-TV. Long before Lucy climbed into the anchor chair, she sat on the "Our Generation" set and peered into the newsroom of her future employer.

An alumna of the Sally-Ann Roberts show, the Murrow award-winning journalist described coming back to the station as surreal. She could never have imagined the historic and important role should would take on while covering the arrival and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"It was such a horrible and humbling time in our lives. But at that time, I wouldn't have wanted to do this job with any other staff. They were my family when my blood relatives were so far away, but safe. The city has an amazing opportunity in its hands. It's up to us as the media, up to the community as citizens, and up to the politicians as humbled elected officials to step up to the plate and treat the rebuilding of this city as a once in a lifetime chance to create something innovative and wise. What becomes of New Orleans is all of our legacies. History should reflect a wonderful and inspirational journey that had bumps in the road. My faith as a native New Orleanian tells me that in the end, the people of this city won't let our story be told in any other way."

Following the hurricane, Lucy traveled to Washington D.C. to cover Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin's testimony at the congressional Katrina hearings.

She also covered the Governor's trip to Cuba last March, where she promoted the sale of Louisiana goods to the struggling, communist island.

A graduate of Cabrini High School, Lucy began working in TV news while still in college as a sophomore at Loyola.

Climbing the ladder at her first job from intern to nighttime assignment editor, to field producer, Lucy had gotten bitten by the news bug and there was no looking back.

During her senior year in college she reported at a local television station in Houma. She still wonders how she survived her senior year with all the travel.

Her first full-time reporting job came at WALA-TV in Mobile. "I spent my first two years getting my feet wet - in tropical storms," she recalls. "I spent my 22nd birthday in a live truck in Pensacola Beach, awake for 29 hours straight doing live reports while being soaking wet."

Lucy recalls those times fondly, but she also wanted badly to return home, evidenced she said by the 75,000 miles on her two-year-old car.

She landed back at the home of "Our Generation" as a member of the Next Generation of reporters.

"The staff here is amazing," she says. "Everyone comes to work hungry to find a story, give a voice to the underdog and hold politicians accountable. I work with some pretty passionate people, in a city where people care about their surroundings."

Lucy is the first American-born member of her family. Her father, brother and sister were born in Cuba and her mother is from Spain.

"They were all Cuban refugees who came in '69. Living under a communist dictator for so long, they know what it's like to not have the freedom of speech and the right to get unbiased information about what's going on around you."

When Lucy is not at work she said she enjoys dancing, swimming, traveling and enjoying her goddaughter Payton.

lbustamante@wwltv.com