I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Growing up, I quickly found my passion in the arts and theater. Whether on stage or in front of a camera, I loved stepping into someone else’s shoes and exploring life from a different perspective.
My passion to tell stories followed me to Texas. I graduated from Texas Christian University - majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in studio art.
At TCU, I worked for Student Media as the Executive Producer/Managing Editor of the school's entertainment show: The Leap. I published stories on TCU’s two student-run sites, TCU360.com and The109.org. I also produced, reported and anchored for the university's weekly newscast, TCU News Now.
About Me
Upon graduating, I was fortunate to be offered a spot in TEGNA's new Producer-In-Residence program.
I was first drawn to journalism for its challenge and excitement: a newsroom buzzing with fast-paced production and quality engagement.
It was that attribute that I strived to bring into each of my stories - always venturing to find and report the stories that otherwise would go untold.
BROADCAST & NEWS MEDIA
As part of the inaugural PIR class, the objective was simple: create a brand new show that embodies the future of news. Something that's fast-paced, graphic and video driven and bridges the gap between broadcast and social and digital platforms. Basically... to innovate.
My fellow PIR partner and I hit the ground running, launching our pilot 4:30AM show within four months on the job. From there, our concepts were tweaked, refined and applied to the entire 2.5 hour Brightside morning show. I spent two years working overnights, rotating between the 5AM and 6AM producer spot.
Although I eventually went on to line producing different shows (Midday, 5:30PM, 6PM), I always make an effort to look back at all that first year at 10 Tampa Bay taught me.
SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTENT CREATION
My journey into content creation for social platforms began as a side hobby to showcase my love of studio art.
Using inspiration from other artist profiles, I started to film short videos of myself drawing and painting. Compiling the clips, I'd edit together videos to be posted as Reels and TikTok's on my personal accounts.
It was this foundation - combined with my news producer background - that opened the door to the amazing opportunity of spending the summer working with Isomo Academy. Recently launched by the nonprofit Bridge2Rwanda (B2R), Isomo is an 8-week intensive English training and college preparatory program for high school students competing for international scholarships.
In July of 2022 I packed my bags and caught a flight to Rwanda, spending the next three months working with the communications team to strengthen the program's digital presence. Specifically, I set my sights on giving its social media a little TLC.
I created a TikTok page with the overarching goal to highlight both the students' and program's academic achievements, while simultaneously immersing the viewer in the day-to-day life at the bootcamp. To do this, the content had to be both compelling and character-driven - finding the balance between informative and fun. It also had to translate well on Instagram to keep a consistency between the two platforms.
Throughout the course of my trip, I single-handily planned, shot, filmed, edited and posted all content on Isomo's TikTok, steadily increasing views and engagement. Leaving a contingency plan in place, I headed back to the States... bringing with me a newfound appreciation and passion for content creation.