It's funny how I have interviewed actors, major league athletes, politicians, international executives and your neighbor next door, yet I have such a hard time talking about myself.

 

I would say my love of writing started at a young age growing up in suburban Detroit. I kept diaries and journals, always hiding my deepest thoughts in the pages. As I got older, I started writing poetry. One poem won a Comcast Black History Month award when I was 16. I also wrote an alternate ending to my favorite play "Fences" that even I liked (I'm my own worst critic). I wish I had saved that.

 

When I got to the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist -- until I remembered I hate science. I took a career aptitude test and, lo and behold, it said I would be good at journalism. I ended up transferring to Wayne State University back home in Detroit and graduated with my Bachelor's in Journalism in 2006. I was also a summer 2006 Chips Quinn scholar, which led me to an internship at a newspaper in Louisiana. That job started a whirlwind life interviewing some people you know, some you don't know, and even having a story featured on a national news network.

 

Writing for me is freeing. I can get all my thoughts and feelings out on paper using whatever words or situtions I want, work out the ending, and usually end up gaining a better understanding of a problem. My love of writing extends beyond bringing home a paycheck, it's a love and a passion.

 

I am married to my husband, Keidron, and we have two kids, Preston and Maya. We have lived in Tulsa, OK, since 2007.