The NBC newsman is taking over the position from longtime 'Today' anchor Hoda Kotb Craig Melvin admits he’s generally not an anxious person. He doesn’t “really do excited” either. But reality was setting in as he welcomed PEOPLE into his Westport,

Wofford College alumni dressed in black and gold and carrying signs were in the plaza outside the Today Show studios in Rockefeller Center Monday to cheer on their fellow graduate and South Carolina native Craig Melvin on his first day as co-anchor of the Today Show.

Craig Melvin's debut as co-anchor of Today proved to be an emotional one. On Monday, January 13, the 45-year-old broadcast journalist — who began his first day in his new gig — received a video message and a handwritten letter from his predecessor, Hoda Kotb, whose last day was Friday, January 10.