Theresa Adams
I am curious about people. Some might call it nosy. I like hearing the stories that others like to tell me about themselves. This would include complete strangers who often end up telling me intimate details about their lives.
This sense of familiarity is very helpful when it comes to gathering information for telling stories. It makes it easier for me to live out my Life in ACT2, as I transition from reviewing claim files belonging to private corporations to interviewing city officials and community advocates.
I grew up in Los Angeles, California. I raised two children who also raised me. I decided to return to school after they decided I was old enough to take care of myself and moved out.
Before moving to Berkeley I was an executive assistant for the director at the Los Angeles Press Club. While taking classes at Los Angeles City College and working as an editor for the campus newspaper and magazine. I earned my A.A. degree in journalism. In another life, I was an insurance claims adjuster handling construction defect and general liability cases. Later I was promoted to team leader supervising a group of investigators. I think the skill-set required for both professions is very similar. Both require that you investigate the facts, gather your research and present it in a report that is written with a degree of objectivity.
After completing my studies at community college, I transferred to UC Berkeley and earned my B.A. in Media Studies while working for the Daily Californian as a general assignment reporter, and at the Cal Calling Center fundraising for the university. Now I am here at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism honing my reporting skills.
I foresee a future in a company that wants an outspoken, inquisitive person who not only asks who, what, when, where and why but what the hell took us so long to cover this story. I will include many of those stories in the magazine I want to produce and on the radio show I would like create.
As my journey continues I would like to cover international issues and report in places like China and the United Kingdom. It is an opportunity to provide more information about our social, economic and political positions and how our lives intertwine with our neighbors around the world.