 Today we're speaking to a peer of mine — Angeline Abrera. Although we've only known each other for a short amount of time, I've always been very impressed and inspired by her happy spirit, strong passion and creativity. The first conversation we ever had was filled with us excitedly talking about our passions and careers, plus giving each other tips on upcoming opportunities. There's never a dull moment with her, and I'm excited to share her journey with you. What is it about the communications that attracts you to it? What attracts me to communication is the storytelling, and how there are just so many different areas you can go into. When you first think of communications, you usually think that you have to be this very extroverted person to be a part of the communications field, but I am the total opposite. I feel like I don't present myself that way, but I'm very much introverted. Everything that I do with my creative work, like photography and graphic design, it's a very independent hobby, but when I found out that communications was actually in that same field of my hobbies, I thought, "Hey, I can actually do this." It's not what I thought it was going to be. But again, what attracts me to it is the storytelling, and that can be in literally any form, whether that's a news package, photography, film, even graphic design or digital art. Everything you create inevitably has a story, and I love how you can use different mediums in order to portray it. What have been some of your favorite projects throughout your career? In high school I was in a film class and, at first, I did not want to do film — I had signed up for a photography class, but on the first day of school they told me they had to put me in a film class. I was so set on photography, but it ended up working out. We kept doing different projects and I just thought, "Wait, I actually really like this." I had loved cameras so much that I was willing to do anything with them. In the class, we had to do a news package and this was the first time I actually stepped out and took a larger role in a news package. This was the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs news package that I did in Washington D.C. We basically had to work with other students from across the country along with our mentors from PBS on the Wenatchee Youths Circus package. This was one of my favorite projects I've ever done because I actually got to step out into the field, in a place I'm not really comfortable with or that I knew anything about while working with people I didn't know. Also taking a role in doing the interviews and being the main editor of the package was really cool. My other favorite project was for one of our Creative Work minor classes, Poetics & Performance where I did a photography project that highlighted different women of color and showed that they're more than just what society perceives them as. It was about also highlighting their craft; for example, I shot photos of my friend who's a dancer, my friend's mom who owns her own bakery, my mentor who I look up to for everything in my life and then also my boss who has so much energy all the time. How did you find the opportunity to work with PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs? That's funny, actually, because that was my first year ever taking a film class. It was in the second half of the year when our teacher (she's also one of my role models) told us about the opportunity, and most of the class were like, "Oh, I'm not going to apply because I probably won't get it." One night I was just looking at their website and thought that the opportunity was really cool, and even though I didn't have a lot of experience, I loved editing — so I just applied. A few months later I got an email saying I was accepted, and I was one of 20 students that were chosen in the nation. Considering I didn't have any experience, I was really shocked. I guess my life motto now is "The worst they can say is no." That's the mindset I have going into almost everything I do. After that experience, I just kept applying to more and more things — I ended up being one in three women who got the Gwen Ifill Fellowship with Houston Public Media that year. I also did another news package with them through that mindset. So you've had quite a few experiences with news media, but are there other experiences you've had with other types of media that have allowed you to explore and find what you want to do? Yeah, definitely. Around the same time, junior and senior year of high school, I started doing videography and photography work on my own. My English teacher asked my friends and I to help her make a promotional video for Houston Play on Purpose, which is an organization where she writes plays that cater to different social issues within the Houston area. We ended up helping her with almost every single one of her plays. That's what made me realize that I really do love the entertainment aspect of communications. Even before then, though, I was always inspired by music — fun fact, I actually play guitar and did choir throughout high school, and also some in college. I feel like I should have known from the start that the music industry is something I’ve always wanted to pursue regardless, but because I had focused so much on film, I kind of strayed away from that. Now, though, I know that I want to pursue working for a record label. In fact, I had an internship with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo working their social media and helping them shoot photos on the grounds. NCT 127, one of my favorite groups, was performing that year and so I told my boss that I had a video idea for them. I'd been learning about how fans are the backbone of the music industry, so I kept thinking, "If I didn't have this internship then what would I, as a fan, want to see?" So I had the idea of the NCT 127 members trying different rodeo foods because it's just so unique to rodeo and to Houston. I pitched the idea to my boss and she liked it, but it didn't really work with the managers. However, it was still cool for me to see the process of that. I also shot some pictures of them with my camera during their concert, and one of the pictures ended up being chosen for the rodeo's Twitter account. NCT 127 ended up retweeting my picture, which was just so cool. The Houston Rodeo definitely inspired me even more to pursue the entertainment industry because I also just love concerts and live shows. So whether it’s me working in film or music, I’ll be happy with either one. You're also planning on studying abroad this December. Yeah, at the time of my applying to study abroad, I was starting to get into K-pop, so I thought about going to Seoul, South Korea. I'm going to take a class called Mass Media and Pop Culture in South Korea. I'm really excited to learn more about the pop culture landscape. Initially, my plan was to go abroad in the summer of 2020, but with COVID, that didn't end up happening. We've been able to push the trip back, so fingers crossed it does happen. I've always wanted to study abroad; it's just something I want to do for myself before I graduate. As a creative involved in the digital media landscape, what are some of your favorite mediums/techniques/colors to use for your visual work? I feel like it varies between different mediums. For photography, I like a lot of neutral colors like browns, beige, blacks, whites and a lot of green. I also just love having the Bokeh effect in the back of my photographs, that blurry effect in the background. As for my digital work, I'm still learning and it's something that I do for fun, but it's the complete opposite approach. I love having a pop of color on literally every project I do. I also love playing around with different color palettes because I'm still learning and finding my own style in that area. I don't use Photoshop, I mainly use Procreate and Canva for my projects. As for my favorite medium overall, this one is really hard, but maybe videography and photography. In high school, my friends and I did a documentary project and I realized that I love how literally even just the smallest millisecond of cutting a certain clip can change everything. I'm not much of an After Effects graphics person, but I love arranging the different clips and cutting the story up in that way. As for photography, it started out as a hobby but I'm now sort of running my own photography business, which is crazy. I also didn’t realize how long I’ve been doing freelance work because I think I started in my junior year of high school. What did you start doing first, photography or videography? That's a good question, actually. When I was little, I had this one-shot mini camera that I would bring everywhere. My family and I went on a trip to Dallas and I remember taking a picture of a flag or of people and making sure everything was placed just right. I always liked to take pictures of my family. I also did the same with video. My cousin and I would make random little videos when we were growing up in her house, so I feel like everything I did back then has evolved to what this is right now. I feel like everything's happened gradually, there's not one distinct moment where I thought, "I'm going to pick up the camera and pursue photography/videography.” What are some things you want to try out in your photography, videography and graphic design? One thing I really want to try is more creative compositions because right now I do a lot of graduation portraits and a lot of photography work that feels very formal and straightforward. With my friend who's a dancer, I remember having so much fun getting her to pose in different ways and, because she's a dancer, she was able to make a lot of different fluid movements. So I want to do more creative compositions, more creative portraits. For videography, I remember a few months ago I said that I wanted to make little edits of my life, like small vlogs on videos on Tik Tok. I wanted to push myself to record stuff and actually make something for fun. I feel like I often get bogged down with big video projects through my work, so when it comes to personal videos, it's like I don't want to do it anymore. With video, I often want to make everything big and perfect so I'd like to push myself to make something more casual and laid back, like cute little vlogs. You also have a very defined presence on your instagram. how would you describe your own personal style? It took me so, so, so long to get to where my personal style is today. If anything, COVID did it for me because at the beginning of the pandemic, I was just really struggling to find my own personal style, both physically and on social media. I remember scrolling through different accounts and just thinking, "Oh my gosh, theirs is so much better than mine." I tried to mimic their aesthetic/style when I would post on Instagram, but I was never satisfied with it. Now. all of those posts are archived on my account. As unfortunate as COVID is, it came to a point where I was spending so much time at home and with myself, I stopped comparing myself to others, where I was able to find my own personal style and especially, with my wardrobe, too. Just looking at me from a year ago today, it's like a totally different person. I even look different, too. Wardrobe wise, I really love street fashion. That's the style I’m going for, the dream wardrobe I'm aiming for honestly. I’ve always been super into neutral colors in my wardrobe but now that I’ve found and created my own personal style, it’s very colorful now, so just the total opposite! Do you think your personal style influences your creative work? If so, in what ways? I feel like finding my personal style has influenced what I create, reflecting my own style within my work. A lot of it had to do with the confidence that I had in myself. Again, me scrolling mindlessly on Instagram and every other social media platform meant I was caught up in what people would think of me. I love what I put out, and I love what my account looks like now. I never had a feed that I really liked or style that I liked, and it's just crazy that now because I don't care what people think of me, or I’m not comparing my work to other people, I've built that confidence for myself. With each account having their own aesthetic or theme, it took me a long time to make that happen. A year ago, I remember texting my friend, asking her whether I should post a certain photo, or which theme would look better for my personal instagram account. And she straight-up told me, "Angeline, you should post whatever you like. Do whatever YOU like." I needed that push for me to realize that I was so caught-up in comparing myself that it made me less confident in myself. This is not to say that I care what my accounts look like on Instagram, going against everything that I said about not caring what people think of me haha, but because I am in the industry of media and entertainment, it’s just something fun that I love keeping up with. And of course to put myself out there in a very competitive industry. What motivates you in your work? I'm honestly pretty self-motivated. A lot of the things I work on are things that I want to do, so it's not a chore or anything. When I was working with my mentor, Holly Charles (owner of Houston Play on Purpose), it was really cool to see that she was doing something for her community through art, through storytelling. It was honestly amazing to watch Holly use her own form of self-expression to help the people around her. If anything, that’s one of the main things that has always motivated me in everything I do, to help people in my community. This goes back to why I'm a double major in Media Production and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. I’m really interested in intersectionality, specifically the representation of different groups of people in the media, and how those portrayals and stereotypes are often harmful in the way we view said groups in real life. My goal for the entertainment industry is to not only make it more diverse and inclusive, but also equitable for everyone that we see on and off the screen. Whether this is at a music award show, a film, tv show, etc. I even talked about this in a panel about diversity in the media industry with NAMLE and PBS NewsHour. We were asked, "How is diversity changing the world of storytelling, especially in young storytellers?" So I explained how, growing up, I didn't see a lot of Filipino representation, especially for Asian-Americans. And even when we do see someone like us on screen, the roles are very stereotypical, the men being “nerds” or “undesirable” and the women being “shy” and “submissive.” I feel like the main thing that motivates me is that I want to help either create a film or be part of a campaign to help better represent other people, and even young girls like me. Whenever you're watching a show or movie and these images of certain stereotypes repeat over and over again, it makes you believe that’s how they are in real life. And it's just not the case. I want to contribute to the equity and inclusion aspect of media because you can have so much diversity within your characters, but if you're not inclusive about it or they're just background characters, then that does nothing for your “progressive agenda.” At that point, you can hit every social issue in your project, creating this very diverse space on screen. But at the end of the day, you're just trying to cancel out the lack of them being the main character, or the lack of a diverse group behind the scenes. It’s all very performative. Again, there are a lot of films where they include LGBTQ+ individuals, minorities and other marginalized groups, but they're all mostly just in the background. And even when they are the main character, it’s all centered around their struggle or hardship. I just the main thing I’ve been asking myself this whole time is, why can’t we have a happy, feel good movie, or even a coming of age film that doesn’t center around all of that, just like the many upbeat films of white, cis-gender men and women. I want to help move the industry forward in this way. This summer I had an internship with a mentoring organization called 1520 Vision for young people who want to pursue the music industry. I got to learn a lot from other music professionals, and the talks that I attended would be based around how we want to create a more diverse and inclusive industry. Throughout these calls, I definitely see this as a common goal that everyone wants for our industry in whatever shape or form, whether that's in a film, music or whatever it is. When you picture yourself in the next five years, what do you hope you’re doing? That's a good question. I don't know. I hope that whatever work I'm doing is able to help other people. I've never pictured myself doing work just to do it — as cheesy as it sounds, even growing up I always wanted to help people. When it comes to an actual occupation, I really hope I'm going to be in a record label. There's no one specific label, but I feel like Republic Records would be cool because they have a lot of artists I like there. However, one thing I really want to do is work on a Marvel movie. I've been really into Marvel lately, especially with the release of Shang-Chi putting out an all Asian cast film and of course, where the lead superhero is Asian. A majority of the superheroes in Marvel are White, with their best friend or “sidekick” being a person of color. If I was in Marvel, I would want to push for that change in representation, creating a more diverse pool of lead superheroes. Hollywood/the Western Media Industry in general is just so used to posing the white man as a lead, with a person of color best friend, but why can’t they both be people of color? This is nothing against the characters we have because I absolutely love all of them, but when you think about it in general across all films, it's as if we have to have a reason in order to make that happen, as if it’s some crazy thing to do to not have a white person be a part of the main characters. So then again, why not create this change? What are some projects or experiences you’re looking forward to doing in the future? I actually got accepted into an internship last night, which I’m really excited about! My friend referred me to this College Creator Program at The Digilogue that centers around the music industry. Their purpose is building community within the industry to help aspiring entertainment individuals, like myself, find resources and even discover new music and artists. I’ll basically be a Digilogue representative for Houston and UH! This internship also serves as a mentorship, as I'll be listening in on different professionals speak to us every week. Can’t wait for this to be another stepping stone into my career. What are some tips you might have for other young creatives? One of the main tips I have for other young creatives is to put your work out there. A lot of people are very hesitant to post their stuff on social media, but I made my graphics account just for myself because I wanted to post for fun and also to have a place where I can track my growth, and archival space for all of my projects. It’s a way to not only see my progress but even serves as a portfolio that I can send off to other people. What or who are some of your inspirations? My inspirations are people close to me. Holly Charles, who I talked about earlier, is one of them. She's a diversity and inclusion speaker so she speaks to different companies about how diversity and inclusion is important. She also works in public relations, and I've actually worked alongside her for a few projects when she brings me in for something. If anything, I probably got my love for media, entertainment and social work from her. Funny thing is, she was my junior year high school English teacher, so as much as she’s seen me grow up, I've watched her grow up, too. She just truly inspires me. My other inspiration is my film teacher from high school who helped me get the PBS NewsHour opportunity in Washington D.C., Cindy Stoker. Funny because at the time, I was incredibly shy, mostly because I was new to film, and she was the total opposite. That being said, I was always scared to come up to her and ask questions or for help in general. Fast forward to today, she’s the MAIN person I go to for help from my resume, a mock interview, or even her asking me to help her with something. Our relationship has evolved so much, but if anything, she’s the one who helped me break out of my shell. You can follow Angeline on Instagram, as well as check out her graphic design work, photography and videography.
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 LaRahia Smith is the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication communication manager who will be wrapping up with her master's in public relations this September. More than that, she's a mentor, friend and an undeniably formidable person. Today she's joining us to answer a few questions of how she got into the communication industry, what drives her and what she hopes to see from communications organizations in the future. What is it about public relations that first attracted you to it? It's definitely about the human connection part. One of my mom's really close friends when I was growing up did public relations. That's when I found out that people could do communication as a career. And it was at a pivotal time where I was trying to figure out, "what on Earth am I going to do?" I went to a school that was a humanities focused school, and so there's always a strong emphasis on English and writing. And I enjoyed it: I enjoyed giving presentations, I enjoyed writing, and in my head, I guess it hadn't really occurred to me that I could do a career around those things. So when I started asking questions, I was like, "What is it that I want to do, and what's my future going to look like?" At first, I was thinking more about journalism, but it didn't really excite me so much. And then I was talking to her one day and asking her about what she did. She started talking about having to write articles, but also just that public relations side of representing a particular organization. And I thought, "Oh, that sounds really cool. I think I can do that." I do feel like I have found the thing that is within my skill set, and that speaks most to me. I'm happy that I found it early on, so I can just continue to pursue that and build upon those skills. So when you were little, did you always have this attraction to writing and language? Yes, I did. It's easy to look at your life in the current moment and forget you have a history with something, but when I was little I used to journal all the time. My mom got me my first journal when I was in elementary school and I carried it everywhere I went. Where all these journals are now, I have no clue. If I didn't have a journal in my hand, I had a book. Reading has always been my favorite way of getting out of my own head and getting it to a different world. I also went to Quest High School, which was a humanities school, so I learned how to communicate ideas concisely, but at the same time, in a way that's engaging. I also learned critical thinking, which, writing and designing things are obviously very important, but the critical thinking aspect is what separates someone from more of a technician role to that managerial strategist role. If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be? I think one would be idealistic. I look at the world and I see what I think it ought to be — I see the potential. I think another word might be articulate, and that goes towards being able to take ideas and communicate them. And then the last one, I would say, is curious. I'm always asking, "How does this work?" I think it's a good trait, especially for communicators, because it makes you not take things at face value. I don't think that good communicators are just parrots. I think they also interrogate the information they receive. In this society, where misinformation is rampant, I think that that skill is more important than ever. What have been some of your favorite projects you’ve worked on in the past? There's a couple here at Valenti. When I first came into the job, they had a scholarships luncheon and I just said, "This could be better. We could do more and make this an entire event." So that became the Impact Awards, which we now have every year. It's really cool to see how that's grown over the years. Then there was also the Game Changers event. I was extremely proud of that because it got so much engagement. It was this event where we brought together a group of ex-athletes and civil rights leaders around the time of the Take the Knee movement with Colin Kaepernick. The first event was called Game Changers: from Raised Fists to Take a Knee. It was about how sports activism evolved over the years, and it was a sold out event. We had a waiting list of 300 people and it was extremely packed, so it was our most successful event. The one I'm most proud of, though, is a series that we did in 2016 called The Big Talk Series. It was right after when Philando Castile was murdered, and I remember exactly when it was created because I try not to watch videos of these murders because they're obviously really hard to watch, but I was in my office and decided to watch it. Afterwards, I got really emotional so I got up to leave my desk, and as I was walking to the courtyard, everyone had the same aura about them. We were all just feeling it. You could tell that a lot of people had been watching it. We also had a professor at the time, Dr. Erica Ciszek, whose research was about activism. I went to her office and was sitting there when she got out of her class, her eyes red, and she told me, "Yeah, we just had this conversation in class. It got really emotional because obviously people are talking about this, and Black Lives Matter, and just everyone's in their feelings around all of this." A couple of her students from class who were still not feeling great had trickled in, and we just had a really candid conversation about the situation and how everyone was feeling. I left there and had the idea to create our first anti-racist, racial justice and social justice event. After that, we created a lecture series where we brought in communicators who were having conversations around racial equity, gender equality and other topics. We took topics that are harder to tackle and brought in people who were tackling them. This was so, one, we can have those conversations and our students could be privy to conversations, but also, two, so our students could go out and be communicators who feel comfortable and equipped to have those conversations out in the world, because we need communicators who are like that. I think we got, throughout the semester, about 700 attendees or so at those events in total. I think that event represents what I think communication should look like, where it's not just, "Oh, we want to do this thing and let's go sell it to students," but, understanding what the need is and then building programs around that. What motivates and drives you in your work? Connection. Obviously, I get really motivated by seeing our students and faculty, everyone succeeds, but especially with our students. We have such an awesome student body. We have such a diverse student body, and not just in terms of ethnic background, or racial background, but in terms of just experience. We have people of different ages coming to school, so some people might be returning to finish a degree, some people are starting here as freshmen or transfer students, and we also have many people who are working to put themselves through school. I think that UH students in general, and Valenti students in particular, are hustlers. Out there, you're not getting handouts, so you're working for it. I also get really inspired by just seeing communication for social change. A lot of social movements, like Black Lives Matter or March for Our Lives, are really leveraging communication and social channels to get their word out. I think it's so powerful because, thinking back even to last summer, with the Black Lives Matter movement's focus after George Floyd was murdered, it wasn't just an isolated event. It wasn't just in that city. It wasn't just the United States — It was a global movement. I think that there's a lot of forces in our world now trying to shape how it's going to be. Basically, I get inspired when I hear stories about grassroots communication movements, and how that can be used for the people to get their voice out and make sure that they're being heard as well. That inspires me. So we've talked a little bit about social movements and social justice, how important is that to you as a communicator? It's so important. So last year, there were a lot of conversations that organizations were having around social justice and also just anti-racism. It was a hard time, but it was also a beautiful moment, because so many organizations were forced to look at themselves in the mirror and ask, "Do I just talk the talk, or am I actually doing stuff as well?" I think that as communicators, we have to look at the alignment between what our companies are saying they're doing, and what they're actually doing, because someone is going to call you out anyway at some point. So you better be ready and try and help your leadership team fix that alignment. And so I actually proposed and got the approval from our Valenti leadership to start an anti-racism committee. I chaired that, and we created an anti-racism action plan that made recommendations for the school. One of the things that we recommended was to have a standing committee where there's a committee within Valenti of students, faculty and staff that's constantly looking within our department, producing programs and doing research to figure out how we can make sure we prepared our students for success. That's something that I, as a communicator, have taken really seriously, because I feel like we need to make sure that anti-racism lens is being kept in our communication. It also looks at intersectionality. Who are we showing in our posts? How do we talk about them? And intersectionality, not just in terms of race, but in ability, gender identity, all of these things. It's making sure you're showing different types of people because representation really matters. Then on a personal level, over the last year, I was in graduate school and I focused a lot of my work on this whole concept of social justice, and how social movement organizations use communication to effect change. I actually finished over the summer, my chapter, with Dr. Lan Ni. We wrote a chapter about how a black liberation organization builds relationships and alliances with intercultural groups. One of our findings was that just because their focus is the black community doesn't mean that they're not also working with other groups and standing in solidarity with them. I I've also taken on some projects, like, last year I had a client who does anti-racism training. I also had two friends who were launching an activist organization, and they wanted to get help with their branding and communication. I went and spent a weekend with them a few years ago, just helping them with that work. That's where I realized what gives me the most life and inspiration as a communicator. I thought to myself, I feel like I could do the most good with this. That's where that social justice, social movement-type lens comes in for me. Would you in the future be interested in working with an activist organization? Yes, of course. That's going to be my next move after Valenti. I love being here, but I'm not going to be here forever. I'm definitely thinking that the next move will be working for a nonprofit, a think tank, or just in general an advocacy organization or agency that is doing that kind of work. One of the subsets of public relations is issues management and I think that's where I'm shifting a little bit more. So rather looking, more so, what are issues that people are trying to advance, get more attention for, or what have you? Then there's a whole area of communication, the whole theory of communication that guides ways that as PR practitioners, or as issues managers, we can get the word out about those issues and gain exposure. It's more like alliance building and relationship management. It makes me super excited because there's a lot of strategy. So that's where I'll be in the future. So are there any inspirations (people, organizations, think tanks) that you've looked at that inspire you as a communicator? There's a think tank called Black Futures Lab — and I just love their branding. I love it when I find an activist organization or social movement organization that has a great cause, but at the same time, also has a beautiful brand. I know somebody's behind the scenes who understands branding and they're doing a great job. Black Futures Lab does a lot of work, like educational events, to just empower people to create change. They also produce really compelling research, especially about the black community, and also LGBTQ voices within the black community, which can often be overlooked because it's a marginalized community within a marginalized community. There's also one organization that I recently came across, the Center for Constitutional Rights. Their positioning statement was, "dismantle systems of oppression regardless of the risk," and I thought that was so beautiful. Especially the "regardless of the risk" phrase because a lot of times there is risk there. Unfortunately, the reality is that a lot of organizations have to think about how what they say might negatively affect their organization or their ability to make change. I thought that was a really powerful statement. As I go through my career, dismantling systems of oppression has become a bigger focus. I want to participate in dismantling it, but I also want to work for companies that take that part seriously. This last year I did a lot of introspection and thought, "If I'm not part of that solution, then I'm part of that problem." If I'm working for an organization that doesn't really care about that, and it's more profit-focused, then I'm perpetuating this as well. People who are willing to be brave and courageous, and just do these things regardless of the risk because they're the right things to do — that's what and who I want to work for. I think that part of it is, again, going back to that conversation of how things ought to be versus how they are. I do wish I was braver in these areas, but I could definitely say it's a vision statement for me. This is who I want to be as a communicator, thank you. It's difficult to rock the boat within a company. Sometimes I think that people mock activists, or make it like, "Oh, they're just doing this for publicity, or exposure," or whatever. Activism is hard. Activism is not something, especially if you really throw yourself into it and you're like a radical activist who says, "I'm going to say things that make people uncomfortable, that people are not going to be happy to hear me say, but that our society needs to hear." Especially if you're an activist who does not believe in capitalism, then you're over here not really charging or getting paid. You're just out there saying stuff. You're dedicating your entire might, and there's not that return, not necessarily on investment, you know? So I definitely don't think that activism is not a glamorous thing to be doing. I just think it's a powerful thing. And I really appreciate people who are willing to do and say the things that not all of us are brave enough to say. And what’s your favorite part of your current job? Mentoring students, talking to students. Honestly, you guys give me life. I'm always happy and chipper because you all make me so happy, I'm not going to lie. Sometimes over the summers, especially, it'll get a little difficult for me to push through and then I'll have an interaction with a student that makes me remember that this is why I do this thing right here at Valenti. I love mentoring students or talking to professors and hearing success stories. What are some things that you think aspiring PR professionals should focus on? I think that there are hard skills that communicators need to make sure that they have. So one, make sure you know how to write. It's not rocket science or anything, just practice. It's a muscle, you have to work it out for it to get stronger. For aspiring PR practitioners, I would say work that communication muscle. Go out and write, speak to people interpersonally, practice doing stuff on social media where you're just putting content out to be consumed and building that muscle to where it's not something that you overthink about too much. I also would say to them, to just practice being strategic in the things that you do. I think it's easy for people to just focus on, "Oh, what content am I going to create?" And just like, "I want to make this. I want to make that." There's not really a sense of continuity between everything. It's not necessarily telling a story about you, or a story about what makes you special and your unique perspective. So if you're going into personal branding, I would just recommend practicing being strategic in thinking, "Okay, what are things that set me apart? How do I amplify those? How do I get those in front of the people who need to see that? " Even outside of personal branding, that strategic aspect is so important. Honestly, strategy can be a little bit hard to teach. It's not like a press release where you point at it and say, "This is a press release. It has this part, this part, and this part." Strategy can be a little bit more of an art. Try and look whenever you see a particular communication piece, and reverse engineer it, and be like, "Okay, what are they trying to accomplish here? Why did they think this would be what works most effectively?" Also think about being critical, and challenging some of those things, "Did it work? Did it not? If it didn't work, why not?" Be mindful of those things. What are some lessons you've learned throughout your professional journey? My favorite lesson is, done is better than perfect. I heard this on a podcast before. Because I'm a perfectionist, I try to live by that and really just not focus so much on that perfection, because especially as communicators, accuracy is important. Always. Nothing can undercut your credibility like sharing information that's just not true. That said, there is a difference between accuracy and perfection, and you have to know when to draw that line, because getting stuff out in a timely manner is important. You don't want to sit on things for two weeks longer because then no one's talking about it. So that's the first lesson. And then the second one, which is one that I'm really still trying to learn, is to not do anything, not just do one-off projects, but to tie my interest into everything I do. If you have to write a chapter, and you have a particular thing you're interested in, and say, you have a particular project that you need to deliver someone: how can you tie all three of those things together to where more of the work can just be consolidated? I think that it's important to make sure that we stop and think about how to work smarter, not harder. How can I make sure that I'm not pulling myself in too many different directions, and everything I'm doing helps with this particular trajectory? Then the last thing I would say too is, I've just really learned the value of being brave. I get imposter syndrome a lot and really easily, actually. And I honestly feel like the older I get, the more imposter syndrome I have. I think it's because one, I'm a perfectionist, but also, two, because the older you get, the more you learn that you don't know. And it's just like, "Oh, my gosh. Oh, these people are doing this thing. That's so cool." And then you're just like, "Oh, well, I'm not doing this thing? Does this mean that I'm not good at this? Does this mean that I shouldn't be in this particular field?" I think that, for me, has been a big journey of just being brave, being courageous, not second-guessing myself and also just realizing that you're always learning. You will always be learning. I know that we often say, "Okay, when you get to this point of your career, then you're an expert." I feel like for me, my journey has been that I have to focus less on the whole question of who's an expert, who's not? And more so on what do I know? What do I need to know? What do I want to learn? And just thinking of it as a process, not a destination, the process of expertise. How is balancing your master's degree and professional job? Hard. It was really hard, but I have an amazing job that allows for a lot of flexibility. I can stop at 5:00 p.m. on most days and switch gears. But it has looked like me not having a lot of time outside of school and work to just have free time. I've really been trying to focus on building a work-life balance as much as possible. For me, that looks like protecting my weekends as much as possible to just recoup with people who I haven't seen. It also looks like me prioritizing myself in some way every day. Really, it's been me making time to work out. I joined a gym and I try and go at least four times a week. I will usually go from work to working out and then to my schoolwork because I'll feel like at least I got a break and some time to really reset myself before the next push. Can you talk a little bit about your final project and the book chapter you co-wrote? I wrote a chapter for this book on intercultural communication, and I focus my chapter particularly on what intercultural communication is, and how activists and a specific activist organization approach it. I think it's about 30 pages in total. I also worked on a communication plan for that activist organization. Basically, they have an event they're trying to do, and they had me working on a plan that would help drive attendance. I also did some brand positioning to get people to think of them and understand that they are this organization that also does intercultural work and has intercultural relationships, because I think that's important. I know that a lot of identity-based movements are emerging and, obviously, they're focused on one particular identity, or group, or what have you, but I do think it's important to show solidarity. When you show that, then it's like "Oh, this is just like one group over there making a ruckus, pointing out things in our society that need to be improved." No, there's power in those numbers. We're all talking about it from a different vantage point, but, in the end, we're all talking about how our society needs to improve, and we have a shared vision for a more equitable, anti-racist society for everybody. That's amazing. How long have you been working with them? So it's been a year with this project. It was last summer that I started throwing around ideas, and then last semester was when things really came together and I proposed my project. Over the winter break, I did a lot of research interviews, and this semester I worked a lot on the chapter and finalizing that. And then over the summer, I started working on the communication plan. Now that I see the insights that emerge from that chapter, I'm like, "Okay, now what are some things that need to be worked on, and how can I maybe expand on it or make it better?" In the thick of things, I'm just like, "Oh, my God. I did not write the method section. I need to write it. Let me focus on the method section, and I need to meet this deadline." I'm excited to finish this plan because it's taken a lot of me, but I'm really excited to just be able to look back and be like, "I did this thing. I finished this thing." Finally, what are some tips you might have for other young communications professionals? One tip that I didn't do, and I think would have really accelerated my career more had I done it, is just really finding mentors who are where you think you might want to be. It's okay if you change your mind eventually, if you say, "Oh, I think that's not where I want to be" — but people who have some expertise, a network within the industry, that you're interested in and that you can invite them for feedback. It could be asking them once a month. I think mentorship really sets people apart, and can help you accelerate your career because it's people who've been there, done that. That working smart, not harder? Don't try to spend all your time figuring things out by yourself if you can avoid it. Ask people. Any of them can't be a long term mentor, just find people whose brain you can pick for one-off things as needed. In my past three years of college (and even last year of high school), I have been fortunate enough to have received advice from many different professionals in journalism, public relations and the communications. From presentations to chats and mentor experiences, the advice I have heard along the way has served to mentor me and enrich me, guiding my passion to see results in my career.
I want to share a collection of the most personally meaningful advice here with you in the hopes that it can serve you as much as it has served me — after all, the journalism industry is quite small, and so it helps us to continue to mentor and foster the younger generations of journalists. Here's a collection of advice from professionals in my field: From CNN's Anderson Cooper -- Out-hustle everyone around you (get in earlier, leave later and volunteer more do more work). He mentions that the only reason he ever got his job in CNN was because the person before him took too much vacation days. Plus, one quote that often pops into his mind is"Sometimes you just gotta wear your armor." From talk show host Andy Cohen -- If you want to go into the communications, you should try to get any and all internships (he did 6 in college). Plus, he recommends going into radio as it's one of the most effective ways to help you with speaking to audiences. From the Houston Chronicle's Jessica Hamilton -- Start early when looking for internships and jobs, and delve into many different fields so you can find out what it truly is that you want. The best way to tell what you like is to try it. Your skills, your portfolio and your contacts will get you places. Once you're in the newsroom, remember: "No matter where you sit and what you do in the newsroom, your beat is people. The stories are about the people," and "We are basically the surrogates of the people." From journalist Soledad O'Brien — Try to understand the people’s point of view. Don’t tell just the story of headlines, try to understand the people’s stories and try to serve the community. Look at storytelling as a surface. You have the ability to share their story. Networking is also so important: network, show up and do the job. Be the first person in the workday to work, and every 6 months send a thank you note to people so they remember you. Those people get you jobs! A pro tip is to add in your calendar to keep in touch with people. Plus, if you want to be a truly skillful journalist, you have to read everything...from what you love to what you hate. Challenge yourself, dig into stories. Read a variety of the same story through different news sources see them in different ways. Finally, just do the things that you want to do and surround yourself with those who support you. Find out what you want to do and do it. You can quit tomorrow. Don’t worry about the feedback that others give you when it’s just negative. From CNN's Andy Scholes — The most important thing is to get experience; it's better to have 50 tapes to choose from to add to your reel than only 12. Don't be lazy about what you want to do, watch more reporting and stay later at your internship. In the end, it really comes down to luck, timing and your skills. It's also so important to crush an interview for a job. You have to know the answers, that's why you're there. And remember, you're only as good as your video (you really can never overshoot anything). From Telemundo's marketing director and videographer — The mistakes you're going to do in terms of professional work, you do it in college. When you get to the professional world, you're judged by your work. That's why it's important to get creating! Do a vlog, a show, a podcast, etc. Plus, if you get a job, don't just learn about that one job. Learn everything and anything; they like you more the more you can do. If you can be an anchor, produce, and edit/shoot the video? You're getting hired. Sometimes you have to know when to make sacrifices and when to say no. Once you get one foot in the door, you've got it. However, you have to stay late, and you have to start doing your news and video shoots. If you're not doing it then someone else is, and they will get the job before you do. In the news you need to be a go-getter. You can't be laid-back. You have to do everything, be everywhere, but make no gossip. Stay in your lane. Networking is so important. When you work in the same industry for years, you will run across the same people you worked with in different stations. Don't burn bridges with anyone. Also, keep track of your competition. There's lots of people at Telemundo who look at what other channels, like Univision, are doing, yet they're still friends with many people there. Stay ahead and stay current with the newest technology. You need to realize early one when the market is changing. If you're a radio DJ and you see that the industry is dying, pick up another skill. Be a jack of all trades. Be hungry, don't be afraid to ask. Don't let multiple 'no's get you down. From communication manager LaRahia Smith -- When it comes to social media, it's important to humanize your brand and create a more engaging, symbiotic relationship between you and your audience. Look at your analytics constantly to see what's working and what's not. When you make a social media campaign, it's also good to touch someone on an emotional level. You can do this by looking into story concepts. For example, if you make a campaign highlighting college graduates, what does graduation feel like? It feels like running a race and making it to the finish line, hence the campaign might be called 'From the Finish Line'. It's all about flexing your creative muscle. From CNN's Monica Serrano & Christine Zdanowicz -- When they hire for their respective departments, they're looking for readiness to rise to the jobs assigned to you, willingness to pick up skills, and someone who has specialist knowledge but can also have a hand in everything. They also look for creativity; remember, don’t be afraid to speak your mind about what you like/don’t like about the show or what they could be doing better. You should be curious about the world, passionate about journalism and talking to people and you should be able to write, research and use social media. As for what makes a good story pitch? Remember to keep it timely (what you and your friends or parents are talking about), and make sure the story has a human and cultural interest. It's helpful for the story to already have a strong angle. As to how you find good story pitches... it varies. Sometimes an event is coming up, so you know it’s important. Sometimes you see stories garnering lots of track on social media. Sometimes you just have a hunch when an investigation begins for a criminal case. Truthfully, you develop an editorial sense over time. In the first installation of our coffee talk series, we sit down with Shivani Parmar — journalist extraordinaire and a past coworker of mine. This past summer, she was involved in not one, not two, not three — but four different positions and internships. Shivani is the senior staff writer at the University of Houston's newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and is also the news producer at the student-run broadcast station, CoogTV. She also interned with Houston Public Media as their news intern, and Houstonia Magazine as their editorial intern. Amidst it all, she managed to keep her professional Instagram account updated with all her latest work (tip: follow her @newswithshivani). She is a go-getter and hard-worker, so I sat down with her to ask her a few questions about what makes her passionate about journalism and where she sees herself in the future. What is it about journalism that attracts you to it? I love storytelling. It is my version of helping out our community and making an impact. I want to be able to decipher all of those COVID-19 graphs and explain what they mean to our viewers and what they can do to protect themselves. I want to be the one who attends those brutally long city hall meetings so our viewers don’t have to. How did you find out that journalism was something you might want to pursue? It's actually a weird story, but when I was in high school I applied to UH as an undecided major. So senior year of high school I spent a lot of time thinking about what I might want to do and not knowing what I would event want to look into. The last week of school, our high school TV station asked me to film something for them and talk in front of the camera because I was the vice president of our class. The teacher told me that I did a really good job and asked me to do more things for them, and so I thought "sure, I'll try it out". At the time, I was thinking about being a meteorologist, but I would watch the news all the time without really thinking about doing news as a career. I thought about it and realized I wanted to pursue journalism, so I changed my major at UH and now here I am. What have been some of your favorite stories you’ve reported on? Some of my favorite stories I have worked on were those that were unplanned. I once wrote about a graduate student at UH who was feeding dozens of squirrels across campus while UH classes shifted to a virtual platform at the beginning of the pandemic. It was a story that had a lot of human interest because those animals relied on students to feed them and then all of a sudden they are all gone. In the photo I included in the story, all you see is the student and a whole bunch of squirrels surrounding him. You were busy this past summer with different internships, how did you find all these opportunities? I was playing a game of catch up. I didn’t want to fall behind with my career goals just because of the pandemic, so I continued to apply to jobs and internships. I found out about these internships just by looking up my favorite media outlets online and checked their website for internship opportunities. Sure enough many of them were still offering their programs but now through a virtual platform. You also posted about your articles with Houstonia on your Instagram, @newswithshivani. How important do you think social media is to your work as a journalist? I think that in this industry, you have to find different ways to stand out and be seen. I think that social media has proven to be effective in reaching some of my goals and I continue to post my stories on these platforms to keep my followers updated on the world around them. I post screenshots of my stories, I do reels and Tik Toks too. I talk about the behind-the-scenes of my work life, and I also send out little polls to see what people want to see from me. I love the polls you post on your Instagram Stories. What's your favorite way to post on social media? I love doing pools because I love to see what people are interested in. I get to see what people like and get to know who I follow. You’ve done all sorts of journalism work, from broadcast to print and digital — what have been some things you’ve learned from all these experiences? I have learned that as much as they can be similar, the style is very different. I work at Houstonia Magazine every other day and I'm at Houston Public Media in between. It was difficult being able to flip the switch from writing fun and quirky magazine articles to doing hard news. At the end of the day I learned a lot, advanced in my career goals and I made it through. Would you say you're more interested in reporting hard news versus soft news? I always thought I was more interested in hard news and breaking news, but this summer interning with Houstonia Magazine showed me a side of journalism that I hadn't thought about before. I was reporting on fun things like restaurants and celebrities and fashion, and it was a lot of fun. Honestly, I'm feeling a little confused, I'm at a point where I'm a senior again and I don't know what I want to do. At least I have a lot of options and I'm not limiting myself. My number one goal was to be a local news reporter, and I'm still sticking to that, but I'm hoping to have opportunities to branch out, too. When you picture yourself in the next five years, what do you hope you’re doing? I hope I am someplace pretty, reporting the news for a local television station. What are some projects you’re looking forward to doing in the future? I am looking forward to working on some projects my professors assign me as we get into the meat of this semester. I'm excited to put my knowledge from these internships to the test. I'm taking a class in broadcast writing this semester, which I've had some experience with through CoogTV and my work with NTV Houston as a multimedia journalist, but I didn't know as much then as I know then. I'm looking forward to writing new and improved scripts. What are some tips you might have for other young journalists? As glamorous as a job in journalism may seem, there are also sides that are not so fabulous that you must be willing to push through. Also, a big part of this job is networking. A reason you might get picked for a job over someone else may be because of someone you know that can vouch for you. Lastly, join your school’s newspaper and TV station. It gives you so many opportunities to network and real world opportunities. Finally, who are some of your inspirations or people you look up to? Many of my local news reporters, like KPRC Channel 2's Dominique Sachse and Sofia Ojeda. My family grew up watching them on TV. I actually took a class with Sofia Ojeda here at UH, and she actually follows me on Instagram now! I also got to tell her that she was one of the people that inspired me to go into this field, which was great too. You can follow Shivani on Twitter and Instagram, and read her articles on Houston Public Media, Houstonia, The Daily Cougar and Medium.   If you've known me long enough, you'll know I love Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown. I don't make it a secret — every time there's an ice breaker game where someone asks 'what's your favourite TV show?' you'll be sure to hear me mention it at least once. I could say I love the show for so many different reasons, but, to be completely honest, I love it most because of how much I learn from it.
Every episode lets me hear the different point of views of the most interest people, see how important sharing a meal is in every culture and find all the places in the world I want to visit and learn from. For a girl who's spent her entire life traveling and learning, the show just seems to highlight all the things that make me love our world and the people in it. So, after yet another marathon of Parts Unknown episodes, I thought I'd share my biggest takeaways from all the guests of the show plus Anthony Bourdain himself:
 Sometimes the song on the radio speaks to you on a level so intimate that it reduces you to pure silence as you take in the words. Sometimes a piece of art has an aura that draws you in, standing still as other people in the gallery pass you by. Sometimes a shoe is so beautiful you can't help but take it home, and sometimes a dish is so full of the flavors you most love that you take your time spooning every bite into your mouth. Paintings, clothes, music, poetry, nature, scents, films, jewelry, interior spaces, food, architecture, sculptures — they're all art, but why is it that certain art forms and certain art pieces speak to us on a deeper level? It's part of human nature to connect with the world surrounding us, and as we connect, we find a collection of colors, textures and shapes that especially draw our subconscious in. Our inner artist connects to specific snapshots of what we see, hear, feel and taste. You can see this manifest itself through how someone decorates their personal spaces (rooms, apartments, houses and even gardens), what type of clothes someone decides to wear and even the art style they gravitate toward the most. The question is, how do you find your own personal taste? The love you have for what is beautiful to you, something that transcends material possessions but goes on that deeper level to what makes you feel connected and inspired. The first step is to determine what things and experiences make you happy. This can be as simple as making a list of things you like: walking your dog during sunset, eating ice cream on a hot summer day, sitting under the shade of a great tree, listening to a perfect pop song in your car with your windows down, etc. Now think, what it is about those experiences that you like? Do you like the colors of the sky during sunset? Do you like the refreshing feeling of ice cream and sitting under cool shade? Do you like the specific melodies of pop songs? The most important part of step one is determining what it is that you like of these experiences of things — this way, you'll be able to much better branch out and find other things you like based on the 'why'. The second step is a bit more mathematic and less theoretical — think about the shapes, angles and amount of sharpness you like to see in visual art (this includes fashion and architecture/interior design). I've found this to be most useful when figuring out what type of paintings and clothes I like. For example, I find myself drawn to very structured clothes with clearly defined shapes and contours on them — I like the sleek, elegant yet simple look it gives my outfits. The same goes for paintings, I like the technique of chiaroscuro because there is such a sharp contrast between colors and clearly defined lines within the subjects of the artwork. If you like softer shapes, you might gravitate toward impressionist painters and their works, or you might gravitate toward puffed sleeves and loose dresses. Think about what visual arts draw you in and how their lines and shapes are defined. The third step is to think about colors. You might be someone who appreciates a good artwork no matter the color, but you will almost always gravitate toward a specific color palette that brings you joy or inspiration or peace. This is why we choose our favorite colors, or why certain colors promote a calm state of mind or suppress hunger. The psychology of colors is real and used by brands when marketing new products to consumers, so it might be difficult at first to cut off our own social condition of what a color represents and what it makes our inner selves feel. However, think about the colors you see in nature or in your own home, and try to figure out which ones draw you in. If you connect with the color blue and orange, look up all their different shades and pick out your favorites. This will put you in the path of identifying that subconscious emotion the color makes you feel, and why you feel drawn to it. Once you figure that out, you can implement that own color scheme to your own art or personal spaces, as well as finding other things that make you feel the same way that you can introduce to your daily life. The fourth, and final step of this article, is to make time to make art yourself. It doesn't matter what type of art it is, whether you're painting or sketching or writing or making music or making a collage — get creating and see what comes out. Try to push yourself out of your comfort zone too; if you usually paint, try taking a pottery class, and if you write, try your hand at creating a collage using anything you can find. The surest way to find what your subconscious connects with is to see what you, as an artist and creative individual, create. There's many ways that you can find what type of art heals your inner self, and these are only a few of them. I hope they provided you some guidance to go on a journey of self-discovery, because, after all, the art that connects with us tells us more about our own subconscious spirit than anything else can.   The world has quickened and quickened without our conscious knowledge since the Internet was created. When December 2019 rolled around, I was buzzing with the thought of the new incoming decade. My friends and I talked about it extensively, sharing jokes about it and how we were all steadily approaching our 20s now. There was something almost bittersweet in thinking about moving away from the decade that had made us into the people we were today. However, for my parents, it didn't feel as much of a big deal as everyone was making it out to be. It wasn't until I was talking to them, however, that I realized why. We had all just come out of the cinema room after watching Little Women and were loitering around the lobby, talking about the themes of family and womanhood in the movie. I was surfing the news app on my phone when I stumbled onto an article by The Washington Post, which talked about how how the 2010s felt less like a formative decade (unlike its counterparts, the 1970s or the 1990s, which all have specific aesthetics and movements we relation to them) and more like a continuous stream of time that began in the 2000s. And really, if one stops to think about it, this is true. Since the Internet was popularized, time has managed to go faster and faster than even before: days fade into months fade into years. It feels like 2012 was only two years ago, when in reality it was eight. What exactly is it about the digital age that changes the continuity of time as we had known it? For starters, information is being bombarded at us in a constant stream. One only has to look as far back as March and April of this year to see how true this is. When news of COVID-19 reached a high fever in the United States and in Europe, time slowed down considerably. Days trickled slowly by as we all awaited the next batch of news that would tell us how the health crisis was being handled, how many cases were in our cities, how many global deaths there had been--and so forth. We became conscious of how necessary it was to seek out the next piece of news. When April came, however, we were so used to seeing COVID-19 news that we, some of us consciously, decided to tune it out. The constant news cycle became background noise, and I don't know about you, but for me April was the fastest-moving month I've had in a long time. We, as a society, have done the same over a larger period of time. Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, information has been thrown at us in every direction through the Internet. We have had to adapt to that, and so we have managed to tune out this vast wave of information in a way that moves us forward much faster than ever before. The information is there, keeping us busy, but we learn to adapt so that it doesn't consume our every waking thought. This is a phenomenon that's occurred right under our noses for many years, and as a baby born right on the cusp of this transformation, it's interesting to see how older generations have adapted to this change. We see our parents and grandparents grappling occasionally with their newest technological devices, but having to create new mental processes to be able to adapt to the onslaught of information that is almost a byproduct of being alive in the 21st century is an invisible feat that should be more applauded. It's the basic principle of adapt and survive, but placed in the modern context of our overwhelming technological advancements. Our parents and grandparents might have seen the creation of the radio, color television, the computer and even the Internet, but they saw all of this through the perspective of their own individual communities. Now, they see everything through the perspective of at least five different countries, at all times. Their brains have had to make minute, unconscious adjustments to the digital age in ways that those born in the 21st century are already equipped with doing as soon as they're infants. And, to me, that's simply one of the most impactful feats of human adaptation that we can see on a daily basis. If you want to know more about the psychological processes of how technology has sped up our perception of time, here's an article that explains it pretty succinctly. |
