![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/TIFFANY-GREENE_flyer-JPG-232x300.jpg\")
Tatyana Ross\nEditor-in-Chief<\/p>\n
Tatyana Ross
\nEditor-in-Chief<\/p>\n
Tiffany Greene, the first African-American woman play-by play commentator on\u00a0ESPN, spoke to students in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies about\u00a0setting goals and sticking with them On Sept. 16.<\/p>\n
Greene said that it was an honor speaking to one of the few HBCU\u2019s in the country\u00a0with a Sports Media Program. Inspired by Pam Oliver during her matriculation at\u00a0Florida A&M University, Greene said she made a commitment to herself to speak to\u00a0students on every HBCU campus she visits this year to share her journey and tips\u00a0for success in reaching career goals in a presentation titled, \u201cDefine Your Grind\u201d.<\/p>\n
Greene said that her broadcasting dreams were also heavily influenced by her\u00a0father, Dayle Greene, the first African-American reporter and anchor in Tampa,\u00a0Fla.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t get a chance to see him on tv, but I knew that footprint and groundwork\u00a0was laid for me,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThis was a lifelong dream of mine. I wanted to be a\u00a0sportscaster, wrote it down in my kindergarten yearbook. So, my hope is to stand\u00a0before you and inspire you as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, this did not make Greene\u2019s career any easier. Greene said that she was\u00a0humbled after graduating from FAMU and not landing a role at a tv station.<\/p>\n
Greene\u2019s first step of Define Your Grind was to speak it into existence. She\u00a0never had any doubts about the career she wanted. Greene said when her\u00a0grandparents presented her with a Tampa Bay Buccaneer\u2019s football helmet as a\u00a0Christmas gift when she was a young child, it was the best Christmas present her\u00a0grandparents could have ever given her.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually when you say something to see it follow through doesn\u2019t always happen,\u201d\u00a0Greene said. \u201cBut I maintained a focus throughout that said I want to be a\u00a0sportscaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
After speaking it, Greene said the next step is to write it down and make\u00a0plans. Greene wanted to reiterate to students that success does not come\u00a0overnight. She said she could not count the countless number of hours put into\u00a0building her career by taking advantage of any given position.<\/p>\n
Greene first start in her career was a part-time Production Assistant at a startup\u00a0station called WB38. She had the job of the floor director, the audio operator, the\u00a0editor, and she made herself available to cover even the most unwanted tasks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI raised my had to say, \u2018hey I\u2019m willing to go out on Friday nights and shoot high\u00a0school football\u2019,\u201d Greene said. \u201cI\u2019m willing to take that that press release off the\u00a0printer, and I\u2019ll make sure that I go out and shoot it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cI\u2019ll write the story for your anchor and I\u2019ll voice it for myself and use\u00a0it for my resume reel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Greene said the next step in her success was building her relationships\u00a0relentlessly. She said as her career progressed; she realized how busy the industry\u00a0is and encouraged students not to be afraid of following up in contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get to this phase of life, all of our relationships really really matter.\u00a0With your friends or with your classmates, you just don\u2019t know where you\u2019re going\u00a0to end up,\u201d Greene said.<\/p>\n
She said it is nearly impossible to stay in contact with everyone even if business\u00a0cards are exchanged.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy journey to this point at life has been because of my relationships. And just like\u00a0I attacked being an athlete. Just like I attacked wanting to be a journalist. I\u00a0attacked my relationships the same way,\u201d Greene said. \u201cYou never want to burn\u00a0bridges, but you also try to treat people with kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greene said using these key techniques ultimately led her to walk in greatness. She\u00a0believes with consistency, practice, and time each and every student will walk in\u00a0their own greatness.<\/p>\n
Miriam Howard, a junior journalism and media studies major from Clarkdale, Miss.,\u00a0said that she appreciated Greene\u2019s reminder that she did not make it to her goal\u00a0overnight. Howard said that knowing Greene went through a 10-year gap working to\u00a0achieve her goals showed that time and persistence is key.<\/p>\n
\u201dI feel like that encourages me to keep going even though I might not be where I\u00a0want to be right now,\u201d Howard said. \u201cYou can\u2019t get anywhere in life if you don\u2019t try\u00a0hard enough for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trinity Jones, a junior journalism and media studies major from Clinton, Miss., was\u00a0inspired by Greene because she resonates with her key aspects of choosing a path\u00a0and staying with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remained true to her faith in God because that\u2019s something that I do in my\u00a0life, you know throughout all my troubles especially within college,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u00a0like to manifest and write my goals and what I have in store for my life, and how I\u00a0plan to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dara Tuggle, a senior journalism and media studies major and JSU Tiger Report\u00a0Sports Reporter, said that keeping the faith has been important to her journey\u00a0also and she now realizes the importance of making connections and being\u00a0persistent with meeting people in the field.<\/p>\n
\u201dIt\u2019s really easy to get discouraged in this field just keep your faith, keep praying,\u00a0and you\u2019ll get where you want to go,\u201d Tuggle said.<\/p>\n
Greene understands that sometimes it may be hard for some people to put\u00a0themselves out there and that is okay, but she said the only way to get over it is to\u00a0do it.<\/p>\n
Greene shared methods she uses with her sons during nervous moments are taking\u00a0deep breaths or counting backwards from 10. She also said music has been\u00a0therapeutic in moments of distress.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that when I would get nervous before going on television, I would rub my\u00a0ears,\u201d Greene said. \u201cI would sing a song in my head and get a little bop going so that\u00a0I could feel more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greene said she challenges students to you take advantage of internships and\u00a0other opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be willing to challenge yourself and so putting yourself in uncomfortable positions only helps you to grow,\u201d Greene said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tatyana Ross Editor-in-Chief Tiffany Greene, the first African-American woman play-by play commentator on\u00a0ESPN, spoke to students in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies about\u00a0setting goals and sticking with them On Sept. 16. Greene said that it was an honor speaking to one of the few HBCU\u2019s in the country\u00a0with a Sports Media Program. Inspired […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11107","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-campus-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11107"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11110,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11107\/revisions\/11110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}