Today we’d like to introduce you to Rochelle Ritchie.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rochelle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At just six-years-old, I learned how the marriage between sacrifice and hard work could lead to a lifetime of success. And, I learned this from my mother. I was born on the Southside of Chicago, the Wild 100’s, to teenage parents. My mother, who I consider my hero, gave birth to me at 17-years-old only to lose her own mother, my grandmother, two years later to breast cancer. Despite the challenges of being a teen mom, my mother pressed forward, graduating at the top of her class in high school, college and, ultimately, medical school. I vividly remember my mother studying for hours during her medical school years. At times, I would join her at the library and build imaginary castles underneath the desks and fall asleep in my sleeping bag at my mother’s feet. Witnessing my mother’s unwavering vitality has made me an unbreakable, bold, and fearless woman.
As a little girl, I had a wild imagination and often wrote short stories in my journals. I was an obsessive reader and often snuck and continued to read with a flashlight after my mother put me to bed. Perhaps this innocent childhood behavior has laid the foundation for the rest of my life.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road to success is never smooth, I have heard more no’s in my life than yes’ and I admit that I often failed. I have suffered job loss, I have been broke and broken. I think people often see me on television or look at my accolades and create a reality in their head that this has been an easy road, not knowing that I have cried in live trucks before going on-air, because of a broken heart, I had bosses tell me I suck and don’t have what it takes. I dealt with racist viewers and even law enforcement officials while trying to cover the news. But those difficulties were necessary to build up my resilience and ability to deal with people from all walks of life. I am not bothered or moved by racists trolls that now attack me after my appearances on FOX, I now know how to get up and keep going when I want to just stay in bed and sulk. My advice to young women is that the only person who has control of your destiny is you. There is not a man or woman in this world that can keep you from your dream unless you allow it. Understand, that you will hear a million no’s but it only takes one yes to change the trajectory of your life. You have to recognize that this world, particularly for African Americans, was not built or set up for your success, so you have to build and define it on your own terms, and not compare your journey to anyone else’s. I still get caught in this trap, but I constantly tell myself that this my path and I am responsible for laying its foundation based solely on my own aspirations because I am the only one that will walk it. Your parents, friends, professors, or managers are not responsible for how you use the tools of success that were given to you. In the words of William Earnest Henley, you are the master of your fate, you are the captain of your soul.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
Today, I am an opinion writer, public speaker, crisis communications consultant, and highly sought-after television political commentator frequently featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, and i24 News.
Prior to my national television commentary debut, I served as a Congressional Press Secretary for the House of Representatives Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC). While working on Capitol Hill, I built relationships with national media outlets and solidified interviews for the co-chairs of the DPCC — Rep. David Cicilline, Rep. Cheri Bustos, and the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. My media experience as a respected journalist and credible spokesperson made me a trusted press consultant who was requested by Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s press office to provide media training to press secretaries and communications directors in the House.
Getting to where I am today has not been an easy road. When I graduated from college, I was working at Applebees hoping to land my first reporter position. My parents’ basement was filled with VHS tapes and resumes waiting to be sent to news directors across the country. In college, I had a professor tell me I would never be a reporter, or on television, but negative feedback only empowers me. My first job in television was at WLEX-TV in Lexington, KY as a video editor. It was not the job I wanted, but it allowed me to get my foot in the door. The seasoned photographers helped me develop a new and competitive reporter reel, and before I knew it I was interviewing in several cities. Ultimately, I accepted my first reporting job in Lawton, Okla. (KSWO-TV) and that was only the beginning. For more than a decade, I held reporter positions in Baltimore (WJZ-TV), West Palm Beach, Fla.,(WPTV), and Spokane, Wash., (KREM-TV). In 2012, before accepting a reporting position in Baltimore, I interviewed at WGCL 45 but didn’t get the job, nevertheless, I still made my way to CNN, via commentary. My most memorable interview as a reporter was a one-on-one exclusive with former First Lady Michelle Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Contact Info:
- Website: rochelleritchie.com
- Email: rochelleritchie@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @rochelleritchie
- Twitter: @rochelleritchie
Image Credit:
William Oh & Terrell Lopez
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