‘I’m not the exception’: Loren LoRosa on what attending an HBCU taught her

“The platform and the microphone we have now are so important for people to know that we’re here,” LoRosa said on being an HBCU grad.

“The Breakfast Club’s” Loren LoRosa didn’t plan to attend a historically Black college or university after high school. She just knew she wanted to do something great with her life. It wasn’t until she stepped onto Delaware State University’s campus that she began to realize how the HBCU experience would influence her.

“I’m not the exception. This is normal. There are a lot of Black young people who are great and want to be great. We just don’t have the microphones we deserve to have yet,” LoRosa told TheGrio’s Natasha S. Alford in an interview.

For LoRosa, attending Delaware State University offered more than a college education. The HBCU deepened her understanding of Black excellence and showed her what it meant to be surrounded by other Black students with ambitions like hers. That perspective carried her into a media career that took her to Cosmopolitan, TMZ, and, eventually, “The Breakfast Club.”

LoRosa, 33, was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. Despite its small size, she credits it as the “litmus test” for everything that she does.

Growing up, her mother, an entrepreneur, encouraged LoRosa to explore her creative interests. She started acting, hosting events and local fashion shows. She even turned that into a business and produced fashion shows at local high schools. Those early experiences helped LoRosa develop her creativity and producing skills.

“I think that foundation of being in this small town or small city and figuring out, okay, how can I become a big fish in this small pond, is honestly the replica that I’ve taken with me along my life,” she said.

As LoRosa considered her next steps, she weighed college as an option, balancing her interest in modeling and acting with her desire to build a life beyond Delaware.

She considered moving to New York to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology or New York University. LoRosa went on to attend Delaware State University, becoming the first in her family to attend and graduate from college.

But attending an HBCU wasn’t something everyone understood. Even LoRosa’s mother initially questioned whether the school would give her the opportunities she needed to succeed.

“When I first went to an HBCU, there were people telling me, ‘You’re never going to get a good job.’ Honestly, even my mom, in the beginning, she didn’t mean any harm; she just didn’t know. From what she  understood, go to the big city, go to the big school, and you would be better off,” LoRosa said.

The people LoRosa met at Delaware State also helped shape her career path. Kara Barnett, a Delaware State alum who was working on “America’s Next Top Model” met LoRosa on campus, and helped her see that producing could be a career path.

During a conversation about LoRosa’s ambitions, Barnett pointed out that what she described sounded like a producer’s work, even though LoRosa was focused on being in front of the camera. Lori Hayes, a stageplay producer, also helped LoRosa recognize her producing skills.

Mentorship also played a role in LoRosa’s career. While in college, she interned at Cosmopolitan magazine and later worked in production on “Project Runway All Stars,” according to a 2021 interview with Voyage LA. She also launched her YouTube channel, Loren LoRosa TV, where she documented her move to Los Angeles, her time at TMZ, her departure from the tabloid news outlet and her transition to “The Breakfast Club.”

Across those roles, LoRosa didn’t immediately recognize that she’d been developing producing as a skill throughout her career.

“I had no idea until I got to TMZ and was in that newsroom doing it on a daily basis that I was like, okay, not only is this what you’re doing, you naturally just have a knack for trying to figure out what’s the next thing; what’s the next interview; what’s the next exclusive; what’s the next conversation that should be had,” LoRosa said.

As LoRosa reflects on her career, she also recognizes the impact of her time at Delaware State. Although she initially felt annoyed when HBCUs became trendy, she now uses her platform to highlight the success and versatility of their graduates.

“The platform and the microphone we have now are so important for people to know that we’re here,” LoRosa said. “We are multifaceted. We are successful. We don’t need to be told we are articulate because, yeah, we are. Being on that [Delaware State] campus that first week, I just remember looking up and feeling like, ‘Oh, this is why the world needs me.’”

Watch the full interview below: