We were lucky to catch up with VALERIE BURGOS recently and have shared our conversation below.

VALERIE, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I am fluent in Spanish, but my writing skills were underdeveloped. I minored in Spanish in college. When presented with the opportunity to apply for Production Assistant at Univision, a staple in hispanic households, i was terrified of making mistakes. My boss tested me with a 3 page essay; i had to find every grammar and punctuation error. After that, everyday was a learning struggle for me because I had to be perfect grammar wise. When offered a technology segment, which i would have to write and record in proper Spanish, I was hesitant to accept because of my lack of knowledge and practice in Spanish writing. Still, i took the risk and with the help of my bosses, I’ve been able to produce this segment for the past 5 years, earning 6 Emmys for it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My passion has always been acting, singing, dancing. I’ve performed in school musicals, school plays, church, and at college events. I went to UGA for Digital Broadcast and Journalism to find a secondary job; one that I wouldn’t hate and that would give me the income and flexibility to pursue acting. As part of the curriculum, I trained as a Producer, Anchor, Reporter, Digital Producer and Assignment Editor. Our on camera practice was done on local live TV so mistakes were shared with hundreds of thousands of viewers. My faith and confidence were tested, but God made a way – A reporter from Univision who had graduated from UGA randomly visited my class at the time that I was returning to the classroom with no materials. My story for the day was a failure. Through the bitter sweet encounter, I was able to exchange contact information with him, share my resume with him and land the job as Production Assistant. Afterwards, I learned everything I could to become indispensable, including Technical Directing. One year later, I’m offered my own segment. Four years later, I’m offered the Technical Directing position full time. My time-off is spent training in acting, singing, dancing. Landed an agent a year before the pandemic began. Been auditioning and randomly booking ever since.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

While in UGA, I had to take a Digital Broadcasting and Journalism class that is based off of a real news station. Everyone is expected to work and go live on TV, regardless of other school assignments and classes you are taking as a full time student. I was the underdog in the class, to say the least. Couldn’t find good stories, couldn’t keep up with the rest of the team. My teacher told me, “I don’t see the heart of a journalist in you” and questioned why I chose my major. The day that the Univision reporter showed up to my class, I didn’t have my material prepared. Nobody wanted to talk to me for my story. When I told my teacher, she said out loud “What do you mean? You can’t come here without your material, that’s not acceptable!” Then proceeded to ask the Univision reporter, “right that she could never work in local media if she doesn’t have her material??” My friend’s advice stuck with me: “They want to see you fail. Don’t give them that satisfaction.” With the help of God, I fought back. Now, not only do I work in Local Media, I have earned 10 Emmys in 6 years while working in the media industry.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love inspiring people to go past the limits set by others and providing them with entertainment that makes them laugh or forget about their bad day. I’ve received messages from strangers saying thank you and that because of my achievements, they know they can have big goals for themselves. I’ve also been able to guide a few high schoolers into the media industry. It’s very rewarding, to say the least.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @vburgos713 @valerieburgostv
• Facebook: ValerieBurgosTV
• Linkedin: Valerie Burgos
• Twitter: @vburgos713
• Other: TikTok: @vburgos713