Early Life
Kotb was born in Norman, Oklahoma, but grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia. Her parents are from Egypt. Kotb and her family lived in Egypt for a year, as well as Nigeria. In Arabic, the name "Hoda" means "guidance", and is very popular among Arab women. The surname "Kotb" means "the pole", as in North or South Pole, and is a common surname among Egyptians. For a period during her career, she spelled her surname Kotbe to aid in pronunciation; she has since reverted to using the original form, Kotb.
In 1986, she graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism. She is a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
She was the keynote speaker at her alma mater for the 2008 Virginia Tech graduation, where she played Metallica's "Enter Sandman" over her iPod.
In 2010, she was elected to a three-year term to the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Hoda is the Author of her New York Times Bestselling Book Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee which was released in hardcover in October 2010.
Read more about this topic: Hoda Kotb
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