GS:
What have been your worst professional moments?
CL:
Being out sick two years ago for three months.
GS:
What was the awful illness that kept you out for three months?
CL:
I'm sorry, I don't like to talk about what it was. However - I can tell you that it only made me stronger as a person and as a journalist. Being able to fight back from a severe illness to where I am now at the top of my game - I don't take this for granted at all. I am able to see more clearly, i now have a vision of myself and others. I am able to relate to people now more than ever before. I am better for it - than were it not to have happened to me.
As Albert Camus once said :
In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was within me an invincible summer.
--Albert Camus (1913-1960)
I live by this.
GS:
Do you have any regrets about the path you've chosen?
CL:
None. I hate regrets. I have no regrets about the path. Would I have liked to have done things differently thus far... Of course!!!
[CONTINUED BELOW]
GS:
What things come to mind?
CL:
When I first started in the business I didn't have a very thick skin, everything bothered me. I remember taking everything personally. I would get very upset if my newsdirector at the time didn't like my story or what I was wearing or even how my hair looked.
I was very susceptible to other people's opinions of me and my performance. I wish that I had not taken people's opinions so literally in the beginning. I wish I had more confidence. I was too much of a perfectionist early on. I just wanted to be perfect. But news is far from a perfect medium. It just can't be perfect -- It's news!
I also had a very bad case of performance anxiety that took me a good seven years in this business to work through and to get over.
I had a huge fear of going LIVE if you can believe that! That is all I do now and have been doing for almost 5 years - but in the very beginning I was terrified. I was also scared of answering questions. I have just gotten over these fears in the last three years.
Also, you can't burn bridges in this business - you'll never know where your boss will end up next and could be in a position to hire you. I'm not saying I've burned any bridges --not quite -- but I have singed some.
GS:
What tips would you give young Asian Americans considering a career
in broadcast journalism?
CL:
I would say Go for it! Pursue your dreams that is all that matters. We also need Asian Americans in this business! There are so few. You can probably count on two hands the number of Asian-Americans, especially men that are in this business.
GS:
Would you encourage your son to pursue a career in broadcast
journalism?
CL:
Yes, but not because I did it. I want my son to do what ever he wants to do.
GS:
How did you meet your husband?
CL:
We met at an American University party in Washington, DC. I was an attending sophomore and my husband was a graduate of the School of International Service. We fell in love from the start. We have a lot in common. He comes from a similar background. His parents are both Eastern European immigrants from Albania. His father is a physician in internal medicine and his mother was a Spanish and French teacher. My Mom and Dad are both CPA's. My mom was an immigrant as well, so we both know the mentality.
GS:
When did you get married?
CL:
We were married 10 years ago at the Kennedy Center in Washington. We both love the performing arts. My husband is a classical pianist and musician. He writes his own music. We thought it would be fitting to be married there. We also admired John Kennedy as a president .
GS:
What does your husband's company do?
CL:
My husband's company, Trans Media Exchange, develops online solutions that provide universal access to media assets and information and create compatibility between businesses to preview and share media. Some of his key clients are ESPN, Lifetime Network, Discovery Channel.
