Hey, ILLINI! I am a junior majoring in Journalism with a minor in Communications. I grew up on the Southside of Chicago and gained a passion for hip-hop, writing, and public speaking. I have been heavily involved with media from interning in the communications department at Chicago Public Transportation to also working in public relations at Rudd Resources. I am also the social media chair for an organization called Diversecurlz at U of I. When it comes to Journalism my true passion is broadcast, entertainment, and media. I am currently a DJ personality for WPGU 107.1 and a co-host for a show called Can I Kick It? where we discuss hip-hop and interview different artists. My goal is to interview young hip-hop artists from different locations and give them a fun platform to showcase their talent. I am strongly determined to find my way through journalism and do what I am truly passionate about. I am excited to enhance my on camera skills and learn different broadcast skills through GMI.

BLOG POST #1 FEBRUARY 17TH, 2020

On February 14th 2020, Good Morning Illini had its first premier for the new upcoming season! It was a fun but nervous time knowing that this was our first show.

I was able to introduce a package of GMI going to Elite Fitness Center to get a good workout in. It turned out that our producers wanted to be focused on a more impactful story and not just all of the on-camera crew working out. This is when the package turned into my story of going to Elite Fitness.

The day before the show we had to erase the whole package and make it into my own story. With the help of our producer, Maddie Rice, I was able to get this package done and ready to be aired the next day. The main focus of the story was to showcase that getting back to the routine of going back to the gym is always better when you bring a friend along.

The day of the show, I knew I would have to introduce the package but I never adlib in front of the camera before. This is where all the nerves began to kick in and I began to overthink what I was going to say after my package was done.

Time came for me to introduce the package and I knew I had to have a lot of energy because this was a fun story. I had to tell myself that this was just a conversation between me and one person. Overall, when I looked back at my tape I ended up doing a good job with the adlib at the end of the package. I noticed that I just have to work on continuing to be confident in what I am saying full out.

The whole crew did a really good job and I loved how we made sure that everybody was okay with their job for the day!

I can not wait for our next show next Friday at 10 a.m! Please, tune in and show love to GMI!