Why did you become a journalist and how did you get to where you are today?

When I was a 15 year old, I absolutely loved English literature. My English teacher Miss Barnett loved the way that I expressed myself, and she said I should look into journalism. I had no idea what that was, so I said, 'Okay, cool.' I went to Wikipedia, and the rest was history. I absolutely fell in love with it.

I wanted to become a journalist because it fit very well with my personality - someone that loves to do effective storytelling, reaching out to people from all walks of life, travelling, exploring, giving the audience a different takeaway, challenging stereotypes.

I absolutely love all the experiences that I've been able to achieve, not only in my career but in my personal life and the things that I've seen. It works so perfectly with my love for travel, community, journalism, and supporting people who are from a marginalised background. It all works beautifully in tandem, and it's a very big blessing to say that.

How did I get here? It was having a keen interest in journalism and it was building a portfolio for myself so that I was already working towards it. What I mean by ‘portfolio’ was having a blog. So when it came to having my first ever interview with the BBC in 2014, I literally just reflected on the stuff that I did as an aspiring journalist, like working on my YouTube channel.

God bless my mum! She bought me a camera so I could start filming content. And it was one of the most invaluable things ever because I almost built an organisation for myself before joining one. So that was my own work experience.

How did you learn to navigate newsrooms and what advice would you give to other people of colour?

I would say it goes back to creating my own portfolio. The sad reality is, many of these rooms just aren't representative of people who look like us - so we create our own room.

The best thing that one could do is to really and truly believe in their talents and gifts by creating their own media. So whatever you aspire to do in these news organisations, do it yourself first. So your portfolio shows that regardless of the fact that you're a minority, you still can do amazing things because you're doing things off your own back - your own podcast, your own YouTube channel, blog, your website.

Produce, produce, produce, produce your own stuff. It's the best thing that you can do before you enter into these spaces because at least you can say, ‘I did that and I'm doing that. It's not this news organisation that makes me who I am. It's just helping me further my career.’

Do you find yourself code-switching and what is the emotional toll of that?

If you look at a lot of my work, it's been based across the African continent. So it means that I've been in majority Black spaces, and it's not really come with any kind of toll. Even prior to that, being in parts of the BBC that were heavily white, I never had to change the way that I spoke or anything. I absolutely refuse to.

I guess I can add why I started ‘We Are Black Journos’. It was being in a department at the BBC that predominantly broadcast two programmes with audiences who do not have English as a first language. But if you looked around the production unit, everyone was white in the department of 60-plus people. I was the only non-white person. And it just takes me back to one of my favourite sayings that media can't reflect society if society isn't reflected in the media.

It didn't make any sense. It wasn't a reality that could unify people, that could really display the importance of diversity and inclusion that goes beyond a buzzword. Black journalists exist in all different areas. We're not a monolith, and it's important that we have a physical platform that celebrates that.

What helped your career when you were starting out?

Honestly, I'm very grateful to say that I started a lot of this for myself. I'm very grateful for the mentoring I received when I was an aspiring journalist. It really helped having a mentor that didn't give up on me.

I appreciate the harsh words that were given because it was very much a motivation, a reminder of the things I should be doing, regardless of whether I was working for a news organisation or not. Words are nothing if your actions don't match it.

Why do you choose to stay in the industry?

It's important for me to still be in this industry today because I truly love what I do. I love that it has the power and capacity to transcend industries. Through my journalism work, I've been able to consult for a range of different clients, and I'm very grateful because that's something that I really wanted. I wanted a stronger diversity of income.

Journalism can bring out your PR side, your event planning side, and travel opportunities. It's truly one of the most life-changing career paths. It's blessed me, it's blessed my loved ones, and I truly love it.

And I think why it means so much more to me as a Black woman is because I've also been able to spend time in these spaces and give other people that look like me a platform and a voice.

What work are you most proud of so far and why?

I would say it's any work and interviews I've done in the African continent. Whether it's working on the Nigerian elections 21 hours a day; whether it's walking along the beach in The Gambia, interviewing one of the country's most popular artists; whether it's shedding light on female genital mutilation in Sierra Leone. It means so much to me being in spaces where I'm classified as the majority. I feel empowered. I don't feel judged, I feel welcomed, I feel strong.

It comes with its frustrations because you're in a completely different climate. Even to be in a part of the world where it's culturally inferior to be a woman, it gives me a different type of confidence knowing that regardless of those factors, I'm still doing what I'm doing and I'm doing it well.

It's probably one of the most humbling, amazing, empowering things ever that I love about being a journalist. A Black journalist. A Black journalist who's a woman.