Award-winning Southeastern student broadcaster overcomes disability
Wednesday, July 29, 2020 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
STUDENT BROADCASTER OVERCOMES DISABILITY - Dylan Domangue of Houma, a recent Southeastern Louisiana University graduate, won first place in the nation honors and numerous other national and regional awards as a student broadcaster at the Southeastern Channel despite having cerebral palsy. His inspirational story is the subject of a special documentary to air at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5, on the Southeastern Channel. Domangue was recently hired as a news reporter-anchor at KALB-TV Ch. 5 (NBC) in Alexandria, La.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University student Dylan Domangue had more of
a challenge than most on his way to becoming one of the top student broadcasters in
the nation. He had to overcome cerebral palsy.
“12 seconds at birth,” a special documentary about Domangue’s remarkable journey
and triumph in the face of an incurable motor disability, will debut on the Southeastern
Channel at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5.
The 17-minute program covers Domangue’s story from childbirth, when he first
became afflicted with cerebral palsy, through his four years at Southeastern, where
he won multiple national and regional broadcasting awards for news, sports and videography,
including first place in the nation for both news videography and a live Southeastern
football game broadcast he produced and directed for ESPN-Plus.
“We’re very pleased to offer this amazing story of Dylan Domangue’s rise from
a childhood of disability to an unprecedented collegiate career as one of the nation’s
best student broadcasters,” said Southeastern Channel General Manager Rick Settoon.
“Dylan’s uplifting story should serve as an inspiration and encouragement to all,
especially those with disabilities, that one’s dreams can still come true with unyielding
focus, perseverance and a great amount of heart.”
Domangue produced the documentary himself for his Comm 498 senior portfolio project
in the Department of Communication and Media Studies taught by Department Head Dr.
James O’Connor. The program is framed around Domangue talking on-camera about his
life story, while thumbing through a scrapbook of photos and clippings from early
childhood through middle school and high school all the way through his time at the
Southeastern Channel.
“Since I have been in college, I have wanted to do a project involving some kind
of research or story about those with a physical disorder,” Domangue said. “I have
met many amazing people in my lifetime who battle physical disorders who are all role
models in my life, because they have made the most of their life despite having something
holding them back.”
“I have always considered myself as just a normal person and not particularly
anything that special,” Domangue continued. “However, over the years, many people
have told me that my story is inspiring, so when I sat back and thought about everything
I have had to overcome in my life, I knew it had the potential to be a special story
that everyone needed to hear.”
A native of Houma, Domangue not only produced, shot and edited the documentary,
but also conducted all of the interviews in the show, including those with his parents,
Josh and Krista Domangue, and grandparents, Deborah and Karl Unbehagen. He also interviewed
friends, cohorts and teachers from childhood through college.
“12 seconds at birth,” as the show title implies, begins with Domangue’s birth
when he was deprived of oxygen for 12 seconds, causing permanent brain damage and
cerebral palsy resulting in muscle, joint and bone problems that have affected his
walking movement throughout his entire life.
Despite his disorder, Domangue tried to participate in as many normal childhood
and youth activities as possible, including baseball and bowling. At age eight, he
was named the Louisiana poster child for young cerebral palsy victims to help raise
money for those battling disorders.
“The hardest part about having this disorder as a kid was actually accepting
the fact that I had a disorder,” Domangue said. “I never wanted to see myself as being
different and my parents never treated me as such, but as a kid, you see everyone
around you with normal functioning legs, and I was the outlier. Being different as
a kid is tough because people will stare and make you feel that you are less than
what you actually are. Trying to understand why I was different as compared to everyone
else was hard, especially at an early age.”
“I cried a lot as a kid because I was teased, picked last for teams at school,
and couldn’t do activities as well as other kids,” Domangue said. “However, my parents
raised me to not think down about myself, because if I worked hard, I could do everything
that the other kids could do. My parents treated me as if I never had a disorder,
and without that mindset that they instilled in me, I know I would not be the same
person I am today.”
Domangue relates how the biggest challenge occurred at age 11 when a sudden growth
spurt stretched the muscles in his legs, causing severe pain and requiring 18 major
surgeries. He had to wear leg immobilizers at night to keep his legs straight to avoid
his muscles getting tighter than they already were. The result was even greater gait
dysfunction.
He was forced to give up baseball, which was devastating for him because of his
love of sports. He joined the school band to stay active, and he never wavered in
his commitment to excellence in the classroom. A consistent honor roll student who
aced Louisiana standardized tests and won math and spelling bees, Domangue won an
international Yes I Can! Award given by the Council for Exceptional Children in 2010
for the top academic achievement for students with disabilities.
Yet he never lost his burning desire to one day become a sports broadcaster.
“If I could have done so in the fifth grade, I would have jumped straight into
college to become a sports broadcaster,” he said.
Domangue said his life changed dramatically for the better when he enrolled at
Southeastern and started working at the Southeastern Channel.
“The Southeastern Channel has played a huge role in making my dreams come true,”
Domangue said. “I had always wanted to be a television broadcaster, but I had zero
experience when I finished high school. Going to Southeastern was truly the greatest
thing that ever happened to me. I was able to start working at the Southeastern Channel
from the first day that I stepped foot on campus.
“Over the last four years, I have been a part of an amazing crew of people covering
Saints, Pelicans, and all Southeastern athletic events. I was able to work for numerous
ESPN-Plus broadcasts while going to many broadcast conventions,” Domangue said. “I
always said that I am blessed to have never worked a day in my life, because this
is a career that I’ve always wanted to do, and I am so thankful to have gotten my
start at the Southeastern Channel. Now that I’ve graduated, I look back at my time
here, and think that I have no idea what direction my life would be if I did not choose
to go here.”
Domangue said that when he first began working for the Southeastern Channel he
was initially nervous that his disability might play a factor in how well he could
report.
“Over the four years I was in school, I did reports where it is clear that I
do have something wrong with the way I walk,” Domangue said. “However, not one person
looked at that as a negative. In fact, everyone at the channel was in full support
of who I am, and that meant everything to me in overcoming my disability. I was blessed
with a supporting cast around me who could see the passion I have for this field and
how I won’t let anything stop me.”
“Immediately, when Dylan started at the Southeastern Channel he knew exactly
what he wanted to do,” Settoon said. “He wanted to be a sports reporter, anchor and
play-by-play announcer, and we were able to start working him into these roles in
these shows and programs right off the bat. It did not take long for him to start
making waves of really how good he was. He started working his way up the ladder in
a hurry.”
What followed was an impressive string of national and international awards for
Domangue’s work both in front of and behind the camera on both the national and regional
levels. The Society of Professional Journalists tabbed his news videography first
in the nation and his sports videography second in the country twice. His producing
and play-by-play announcing resulted in first in the nation honors from College Broadcasters,
Inc. for a Southeastern football broadcast. His producing and live game directing
enabled a 2019 football game for ESPN-Plus to win National Finalist recognition as
one of the top four in the nation given by both the Broadcast Education Association
and the College Sports Media Awards. The broadcast was also honored by the Emmys in
the Suncoast region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a
Student Production Award.
As a news and sports reporter, Domangue won top regional awards given by the
SPJ, the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press College Broadcasters, and the Southeast
Journalism Conference, made up of 40 universities from an eight-state region in the
southeast U.S. The Suncoast Emmys nominated him for “On-Camera Talent,” and he received
Emmy scholarships worth $5,000 per year for three years. His “Big Game” live, weekly
sportscast won first place Associated Press College Broadcasters honors twice and
was nominated for a Student Production Award by the Emmys.
“Dylan’s accomplishments at the Southeastern Channel have been staggering, especially
considering his disability.” Settoon said. “In fact, despite all of the really good
students who’ve come through the Southeastern Channel over the years, Dylan is probably
the most multi-skilled student that we’ve had both in front of and behind the camera,
both in the studio and in the field.”
“Never in a million years could I have dreamed about all of the awards that I’ve
achieved over the past four years,” Domangue said. “I’ve been a part of some great
telecasts that have placed tops in the entire nation. To have my own work recognized
nationally has truly been a blessing. Every moment, every show, every week, and every
story I covered was an amazing experience. The amount of opportunities that are given
to students at the Southeastern Channel are truly second to none compared to any other
school in the nation. There are so many shows that students can work on, whether it
is behind or in front of the camera.”
Despite the rigorous physical demands of both live and remote television production
on a daily basis, Domangue’s disability never entered the thought process, according
to Settoon.
“In four years he never once mentioned or talked about his disability, never
used it as an excuse,” Settoon said. “He never wanted anybody to feel sorry for him,
pity him, give him anything, or provide any special treatment. In fact, he’s been
the student that has most wanted to tackle the newest and most difficult challenges,
including the most physically taxing ones, and in doing so he became probably the
best student leader we’ve ever had in 18 years at the Southeastern Channel, one who
all of the other students looked up to.”
Prospective employers also easily overlooked his disability. Upon graduating
this past May with a double major in communication and marketing, Domangue fielded
several on-camera job offers, including the one he accepted as news reporter-anchor
at KALB-TV (NBC) Ch. 5 in Alexandria. He has been filing daily reports covering the
city council, police jury and other stories throughout the central Louisiana community
since he began in mid-June.
Domangue is focused on going as far as he can in his television broadcasting
career, and he wants his documentary to be an encouragement for others with disorders
like cerebral palsy.
“Just because we have something that limits us, we shouldn’t let that hold us
back,” Domangue said. “We should always set goals and every day strive to reach them
no matter the obstacles in our way, and never give up no matter what we pursue in
life. Having a disorder does not have to be what defines you in your life. You write
your own story. Do not let others write your story based off what they think of you.
I believe this documentary offers a sense of hope to these people who have disorders.”
According to Settoon, “12 seconds at birth” will re-air multiple times during
the next few weeks on the Southeastern Channel and will be available for Video on
Demand on the Southeastern Channel’s website at thesoutheasternchannel.com.
In the past 18 years, the Southeastern Channel has won over 400 national, international
and regional awards, including 20 awards from the Emmys. The Southeastern Channel
can be seen on Spectrum 199 in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, Livingston and St. Helena
parishes and on Roku and Apple TV. Its live 24-7 webcast can be seen at thesoutheasternchannel.com
and on Mt. Hermon WebTV.
