First off, my hair is typically never that long.
Not too long ago, I put together a post about being Eritrean and a sports journalist in the U.S. When looking at things specifically, there’s still only one other sports journalist in America that’s Eritrean. In general, there aren’t many Eritrean or Ethiopian journalists here in our country. There are only three that I currently know of: Master Tesfatsion, Rahiel Tesfamariam, and Semhar Aria. Despite the small number, I consider all of us trail blazers, in my honest opinion. This past weekend in Urbana, IL at #nabjs14, I actually met a fellow Eritrean journalist in person for the first time in my life. On the gorgeous and hotter-than-hell-inside-the-classrooms campus at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, I met Senait Gebregiorgis during an icebreaker session on the first day of the summit. Funny thing is, I already kind of took note and wondered if she was habesha (“habesha” is a person that is Eritrean and/or Ethiopian) just by how she looked. Of course, when she stated her name was Senait, it made clear sense. The same thing ran through her mind when I introduced myself. Anyways, I totally didn’t expect to meet another Eritrean college journalist at a summit in the worst state in the whole country (sue me if you feel I’m wrong). Of course, everyone thought we looked just like, which is absolutely nothing new to us. It was great to finally talk in person with somebody around my age that is going through the same things at home just like me. When Senait told me she has to explain her career to her parents, I acted like a frantic teenage white girl and said, “me too!” No shame. And just like Master reached out to me a few months ago, I did the same to Senait and gave her my contact information. Even though I am still learning in college myself, I want to pass down what I know to other habesha journalists since we’re so limited. To summarize, there are a total of seven habesha journalists that I know of in the U.S. today. That includes three other students and myself, followed by three professionals. Maybe it’s just a weird itch, but I have a feeling this number will keep growing in the coming months.
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Behind the BroadcasterThis blog displays topics that interest me -- including culture, entertainment, music, and life experiences.
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