About Me

I've always enjoyed interacting with people, so journalism was a natural career choice. After completing my undergraduate degree at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS, I left for Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism to broaden my journalistic horizons. While at the Northwestern, I had the pleasure of being surrounded my great journalists while learning "how" to be a journalist. I pounded the streets in Chicago and Washington D.C.for compelling stories that showed the human experience. I reported on topics ranging from the foreclosure crisis in Chicago to the raging health care debate in Washington D.C. It's my belief that journalism is not a career choice, but a calling to help those without the ability to help themselves.

Writing skills not enough to succeed as reporters, journalists say

Midterm

Untitled from Kristian Weatherspoon on Vimeo.

“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook in the kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations…I have built my own factory on my own ground.Madam C.J. WalkerNational Negro Business League ConventionJuly 1912Madam C.J. Walker is widely recognized as one of America’s first African-American female entrepreneurs. Her entrepreneurial spirit brought about a legacy, but more importantly, a standard in the care of African-American hair. It is this tradition that lives on in salons across America. Here in Evanston, Illinois at the, stylists like Tanesha Staffney have chosen this career path to not only care for hair, but as a means of expressing her creativity. Staffney, a stylist of 8 years, believes that hairstylists have the opportunity to not only change hair but affect attitudes and confidence levels as well. But it is not only the customer that benefits from her creativity, Tanesha takes this job as a chance to escape the mundane nature that a corporate position could potentially offer her and instead spend her days building personal relationships through customer interaction. Without a doubt, her love for people coupled with her love for hair have are the reasons she loves her job and strives for the standard of quality hair and beauty care set by the likes of Madam C.J. Walker.