Today we’d like to introduce you to Shanique Liz Yates.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Shanique. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At a young age, I developed a stuttering problem because I would get too excited that when the words came out – they’d be all jumbled up. Thanks to my parents, making me slow down and take my time when speaking, I was able to overcome this challenge. When my dad tells the story – he says from that point on I never stopped talking. My love for telling my parents all that was going on, coupled with the joy from receiving magazines like Seventeen and Essence and my love for writing I was fortunate to find my passion. Although I didn’t know it at the time – entering an oratorical contest in the 3rd grade and losing pushed me to begin walking in my purpose. From there, I’d go on to compete in numerous oratorical and public speaking contests even taking the title as winner of the Unified Shiloh Baptist Association’s Oratorical contest in high school for a speech that I wrote as I represented my home church in Dinwiddie, VA – Olive Branch Baptist Church. I also was a member of the debate team for my college-prep program at Virginia State University’s Upward Bound program and a member of the Forensics public speaking club in my high school where I also placed within the categories of original prose and spoken word.
My love for telling stories and writing led me to obtaining a B.S. in Mass Communications with a focus in Broadcast Journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating in 2015, I’d go on to work as a PA for a local NBC news affiliate. I’d work the morning show from 3:30 am till about 10 am before heading to my first adult job with benefits at Bon Secours where I was an Insurance Verification Specialist. This time frame was supposed to be the happiest of my life with my new degree, a foot in the door in my field and a world of opportunities ahead but it wasn’t. I fell into a deep depression that most of my family and friends reading this wouldn’t even know – it was the darkest time of my life but still I knew I had a calling.
Fast-forward, I left the news job after close to a two years stint because getting up early and then working a full shift began to take a toll on my body and I was starting to feel undervalued in the field. Now, I was working solely at Bon Secours, but in an effort to keep my creative juices flowing I was writing and reading just about every self-help book that could be found. I kept the faith and ultimately left the very toxic work environment at Bon Secours, taking my talents to T-Mobile as a Social Media Specialist. It was during this time that my world began to really change.
First event of changes began when just hours before my 26th birthday in November 2018, I lost my grandmother unexpectedly. It was the loss of my GaGa that opened my eyes and showed me that there’s more to life than just living – we are made to walk in our purpose. In January of 2019 I sat down, got intentional with my vision board, writing three important things and truly trusting and believing God for them:
1. I will relocate to another state
2. I will create content for a major entertainment company
3. I will spend more time talking and listening to God. I will move when he says move!
These are all word for word what was placed inside a makeshift capsule in the form of an envelope placed on my yearly vision board and let me tell you – it’s still so so humbling that I was able to manifest all 3 in less than a year. It started with me reaching out to one of my mentors, Keisha Taylor (she’s known me since I was a baby) who had lived in ATL for close to two decades. I asked if she knew of anywhere looking for work, but not just anything, work within the field of journalism where I could truly walk in my calling. This led to her connecting me with a former colleague who was at the time working for AspireTV here in ATL. I was fortunate enough to meet with the GM of the company in May of 2019 to discuss a possible place within the team.
My lease was ending in July so while visiting ATL in May I searched for apartments because something in my spirit just said to stay ready so I wouldn’t have to get ready. June rolled by and so did half of July before I ever heard back from aspireTV but then as always, God pulled a fast one and just one week before I was set for my lease to end, I received the call to join aspireTV, however, this was only a contract/temporary position.
I did not tell anyone, besides my two dearest friends that this was a temp position as that I knew my family and friends would try to dissuade me from leaving a nice job with benefits and decent pay to step into the unknown – but again I had started a personal journey with God earlier that year and I knew he was telling me to believe him and just go so that’s what I did and from day one it’s been the job of my dreams. It’s like #Blackgirlmagic (plus the only guy on our team, Tim) being surrounded by some of the dopest women in ATL and supportive too.
Being around such BOSSome women has pushed me to creating my own platform As Told By SLY, where I am telling the stories of some of the hottest creatives that I know. SLY is my initials by the way,
Also, I should add that in less than four months, I landed a permanent position with aspireTV and I got health benefits again (lol).
My dream is still someday to host my very own talk show – hence me creating As Told By SLY so again that I can stay ready so I don’t have to get ready when that time in my career comes.
I should also add that I am the social and digital coordinator for aspireTV and I love it because I’m able to wake up and do some of the things that I love each and every day. From writing timely pieces on current news to covering events like CurlFest and the Revolt Summit God continues to show me that he will always take my dreams and visions and make them even bigger than I thought if I just continue to walk by faith.
As my nana always says we have to Prepare, Pray and Praise as we wait for our blessings and as they roll in.
I should add that I’m extremely family oriented btw which happens when you’re from a small town like Dinwiddie County and the descendant of share croppers.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No! I’ve been told the word “no” more than I’ve been told “yes” but never giving up is the reason that I am here today. I’ve been told that I don’t have the “look” for television, that my work ethic just isn’t there and a fan favorite – that I should just try something new but guess what? I never listened to the negativity – instead I used it as fuel to become who I am today and as I continue my journey.
As Told By SLY – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I currently tell people’s stories. My website and YouTube are still very fresh – but I created this platform to tell the stories of those creatives who like myself just want to walk in their purpose. What sets me apart is that I’m not currently interviewing your Beyoncé (someday though – I’m claiming it) or Jay Z, but instead I’m sitting down with people like my friend Clayt who’s been in the music business for a minute and comes from the same home state as me.
I want to give everyone a platform to tell their story and the beauty in trusting and believing in yourself.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moment was covering the Revolt Summit. I LOVE Diddy – I’m like his biggest fan (seriously) so when I was confirmed to work his first summit here in ATL it felt like a dream and it was a dream to be working so closely with him, his team and other hungry journalists like myself just doing what we were called to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.astoldbysly.com
- Phone: 804-479-9119
- Email: astoldbysly@gmail.com
- Instagram: @astoldbysly
Image Credit:
All photos with the yellow top are by Mani Claxton – her IG is @clickmani
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
