“I saw the competition and was, like, ‘I’m gonna just go for this.’”

It’s safe to say Derin Adetosoye’s path into the media industry was anything but traditional.

Known for her work in motorsports, the London native stepped into the world of presenting after winning a competition for Formula E.

It was a life-changing opportunity that presented itself during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Prior to that, my background was not in [sports] in any way, shape, or form,” Adetosoye admitted. “[I] ended up in sports and have been here now for the last five years and absolutely love it.”

Adetosoye described it as the natural next step after spending years in front of and behind the camera, filming content for her YouTube channel.

It was a seamless transition. While Adetosoye may not have known every single detail about the sport, she was able to bridge the gap between the championship and a younger audience.

“I was able to just genuinely show up as myself and be curious in places I maybe wasn’t as familiar on,” Adetosoye added. “It was almost a space where I was allowed to bring that in.”

But that wasn’t the only responsibility she took on. Adetosoye was also the first black female presenter for an international motorsport rights holder.

Without realizing it, Adetosoye says she began holding herself to a higher standard, wanting to prove herself.

“What I found really helped me in that moment was almost reframing it,” Adetosoye said. “Whilst there are some people who maybe didn’t agree with the decision of me winning the talent call… there was also the other group of people who were stopping me, like, ‘My daughter, who’s six years old, watches you on TV and is inspired and feels that they can do what you’re doing.’”

That nontraditional entry into the world of motorsports also opened the door to other unique opportunities, including work with Formula 1 Academy.

“There aren’t many people that look like me right now, and so, things kind of really came quite organically,” Adetosoye remembered about the experience.

F1 Academy landed Adetosoye at the Austin Grand Prix in 2023, sharing the paddock with outlets such as Good Morning America and The Drew Barrymore Show.

It rekindled an interest in moving across the pond — and attending Columbia University’s journalism program in New York City.

“It feels like a now-or-never moment,” Adetosoye thought back on the decision. “By the grace of God, it all worked out.”

Adetosoye viewed the opportunity in the U.S. the same way she viewed her nontraditional entry into motorsports.

Since she already had real-world journalism experience, she viewed education as an opportunity to learn new things, challenging herself in different areas such as health reporting and American politics.

“Because at that stage I felt quite confident in my broadcast and digital media capabilities,” Adetosoye said. “I really honed in on learning things beyond my kind of world and areas of expertise.”

While motorsports is still a huge part of her life, Adetosoye says right now, she’s viewing the world as her oyster.

That includes working with the Aston Martin Formula 1 Team, from purpose-driven campaigns to more lifestyle and cultural events.

“Motorsports is still a big part of my life, which has been really exciting,” Adetosoye added. “But just getting to approach it from a lens of contributing my passions and kind of combining my experience and expertise from the five years I was there with who I’ve evolved into now.”

As Adetosoye continues on that journey, something that has helped keep her grounded is her faith.

“There is no one way to do things, and I feel like when you put your trust in God and pray over your career and kind of trust that we are all on our specific journeys, it is something that I found has given me the confidence to maybe do things in a less conventional way,” Adetosoye said.

And while her interests and passions may change over time, one thing that will continue to stand out is representing young black women in the sports media industry.

“I always knew I wanted to work in media, it was only until I saw representations of myself doing it that it actually felt like a possibility.”

Film has long had a way of bridging communities across the world, bringing people together through the art of storytelling.

It’s an art that connected Yozabeth to both her family and a new culture.

“We watched a lot of movies to learn the language because I came from the Philippines,” Yozabeth said. “Movies were always a prominent thing in our lives, and it was also a way for my family to bond.”

But it also gave her a glimpse into the world of filmmaking.

Yozabeth is a set costumer — a job that thrives on continuity.

Her role is to make sure clothing is maintained in each shot and sequence.

“If someone cries and they get tears on their shirt, I have to be the one to dry it up so that for the next take, it looks like he or she never cried,” Yozabeth explained. “So, it’s very chill. But after lunch, if they wear their costume and get stuff on it, that’s super stressful.”

From finding a love for YouTube in her teenage years to becoming obsessed with the newest technology, Yozabeth knew a job in film production was something she wanted to pursue.

But it wasn’t the easiest shift, especially coming from a traditional Filipino household.

“The automatic thing is either you do teaching, nursing, or tech,” Yozabeth said.

With her mom’s blessing, she switched from a degree in bio to one in marketing.

“She said she prayed to God, and then she was like, ‘All right, God, wherever my daughter goes, bless her in this field,’” Yozabeth recounted.

Fast forward to the COVID pandemic of 2020.

It was a time when different job industries pivoted under new restraints.

The film industry was no exception.

“(Richmond) was really popping at the time, but over the years, the whole industry switched,” Yozabeth said. “Thankfully, I had met a designer who was willing to vouch for me and asked me to join in different states.”

Now, she’s worked on shows such as Dopesick, Swagger, and P Valley.

Her love of costuming is rooted in how a set of clothes can tell a story over time.

“Watching all the behind-the-scenes of the old movies that I love, specifically Cinderella’s story,” Yozabeth added. “She wears blue most of the story, but her blue gets vibrant when she gets more confident.”

“It’s little sprinkles of costuming that I always appreciated.”

Working in production can come with its own set of feelings of imposter syndrome.

But what outshines the struggles for Yozabeth is getting to be a representation of her culture on set, bridging a gap she didn’t know existed.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Yozabeth said. “And I always thank God. Thank you for letting me be in the room, and thank you for letting me meet people that will put my name out on the table.”

The art of tending to clothes and a specific attention to detail translates into how Yozabeth makes the people around her feel — loved, seen, and heard.

It’s a characteristic she thinks every aspiring costumer should carry into the workplace.

“If you eat, I eat, we all eat,” Yozabeth said. “God’s going to bless everyone. If it’s your season, it’s your season.”

It’s not an experience many of us can say we’ve had.

Moving to New York City on a credit card at the fresh age of 18.

But for Skylar Bumgardner, it was an opportunity to pursue an industry planted in her heart from a young age — modeling.

It wasn’t a career she thought about until her preteen years, after going through school a bit tomboyish and what she described as not the perfect weight.

“I never had confidence to be pretty, and so it was just never really on my mind,” Skylar said.

That changed in the 7th grade, and the people around her noticed she had changed, too.

“I remember going to different towns, and I would have people say, ‘You should consider getting into [modeling].’”

Skylar submitted to an agency in Chicago at 14-years-old, and while she didn’t get signed, she would later land an opportunity in St. Louis.

But as with any young girl, the struggles and insecurities she endured at a young age still impacted her, even through high school.

“I didn’t have direction in life, and I wasn’t the best version of myself,” Skylar added.

Skylar’s mom didn’t want her daughter’s dream to fade, so on a whim, she submitted her photo to an agency in NYC when she was 18-years-old.

That’s how she found herself in the Big Apple, something she describes as an “only God” opportunity.

Skylar couch-hopped before landing in a studio with a roommate, working several side jobs to make ends meet.

“It’s not glamorous, especially if you’re starting from scratch.”

She worked as a model for years, but that didn’t mean the trauma and insecurities from her childhood faded.

“When you’re young and in your 20s, you’re really vulnerable. I was also just healing from a lot of different things in life.”

It led to her decision to take a pause from the industry to work on her psychology degree.

But out of nowhere, her agency called with an opportunity to work for Victoria’s Secret’s PINK.

Skylar says she still struggled with self-confidence despite the big wins and highlights in her career.

“I don’t think [modeling] is necessarily a bad industry,” She added. “But I wouldn’t recommend it for someone unless they feel like they have the strength and maturity to have their own autonomy and set boundaries.”

She acknowledged she had to take a lot of breaks to develop herself in different ways, including by allowing God into her life.

Skylar was baptized at 19-years-old and started looking at her worth and her life through a heavenly lens.

It was around the pandemic when she felt the Lord tell her to take a step back, especially because she didn’t want to cross the previous boundaries she had set for herself in the modeling world.

“It can get so hard so fast. I want to honor God in this, I just didn’t know how.”

Throughout a period of high highs and deep valleys, what didn’t change was Skylar’s attention to what God was telling her to do.

That included packing up her things and moving to Nashville in 2023.

“I think I needed a year to just live off the grid and totally heal,” Skylar said. “I think God granted a deeper inner healing, and He appointed a time. 2023 was that.”

She took a step back from modeling and pursued other jobs, and says the Lord’s presence was evident through it all.

“God just unwound my heart. He just started speaking to me like, ‘You’re worthy right now; you’re loved right now.’”

After years of developing her sense of self and her relationship with the Lord, Skylar was ready to dip her toes back into the industry.

She modeled for boutiques and landed several opportunities before a Chicago agency called her in 2025, asking to sign her.

Skylar says while modeling is a promise over her life, it doesn’t hold her heart the way it did when she was younger.

“God is always going to make sure that it doesn’t have your heart,” Skylar said. “I always have to grow in this, but my worth isn’t in it.”

She reached that point by spending time with God and surrounding herself with people who love Him as well.

“I can have all the money in the world, but if I don’t have healthy relationships or if I’m not taking care of myself — those are the things that make you really happy, and your dreams are kind of bonuses to life.”

Skylar will return to New York City for modeling this year.

Things will be different this time around.

“I’m standing for Christ in modeling,” Skylar added. “Being a light in the modeling industry because it can be a beautiful thing, but it can also be dark.”

The prophecies called over life have only amplified that dream.

“God is about to open the doors of what you’re trained in. He saw there was a line, and you didn’t cross that line, and He’s about to honor that.”

“I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“But I made this mistake here, and this graphic was blue instead of red, and it took too long to get to the point.”

“I don’t even deserve to be nominated; there are people who’ve been at this so much longer than I have.”

A million and one thoughts ran through my head last Thursday morning, the day writers, producers, reporters, editors, and all journalists alike had marked in their calendars for months.

Emmy-nominations.

Awards had never really been at the top of my priorities as a journalist.

I’m in this industry because I love people, I love writing, and I love giving a voice to those who go overlooked.

And to be honest, I thought awards were saved for the people who had been in the industry for decades, not just a measly few years.

But it was hard to contain my excitement when I learned my job was submitting two of the shows I produced for recognition, and I, of course, immediately called everyone in my family to share the news.

Over the next few weeks, I kept reassuring myself that it was okay if I wasn’t nominated, that my name on a list didn’t define the work I did.

But come Thursday morning, all of the insecurities I thought I had buried away came rushing back in, picking apart everything I felt I had done wrong.

Finding out that both of my submissions had been nominated resulted in a lot of joy and also a lot of reflection.

If I didn’t get the nominations, would I still be proud of the work that I did?

Would I still feel confident in the words that I write? The shows I produce?

I’m not sure of the answer, but next time nominations roll around, I want to be able to say yes.

Awards are fun, and yes, they’re pretty cool, but I want the ultimate prize to be knowing I’m entrusted with some of the hardest times in our communities, and to deliver the news to thousands of Tennessee and Kentucky residents with care and compassion.

I remember the first time I met Victoria Dynasty James.

I was sitting at a Tuesday night church service with a dear friend, new to Nashville and eager for community, when a beautiful woman with a bright smile walked up to us and asked us for our names.

We chatted a bit about why I was in Nashville and what I did for work.

“You’re a nurse practitioner?”

I’m still not sure how she got that from news producer, but it’s a joke we tell everyone about the night we met. And how a few days later, someone asked if we were related, and we both jokingly said sisters.

A sister is what I quickly found in Victoria. Someone who is loving, encouraging, and dreams big not only for herself, but for the people God has surrounded her with.

With one conversation, you’ll notice the way she carries herself with grace, gentleness, and a meekness that almost seems natural, but it’s through her time with Christ that Victoria attributes to the person she’s become.

Like most of us, Victoria says she’s, “had seasons of being in the dark room and being developed by the Lord.”

But despite both the mountain tops of success and valleys that shaped she throughout her childhood, there were moments when she didn’t truly see all that she was capable of.

A pivotal moment that helped change Victoria’s view of her future and what it held was when a woman she knew from church prophesied over her and told her she was called to a platform of different avenues.

“Although I did big things in my youth, there was still so much untapped potential,” Victoria said. “I just didn’t see myself learning instruments and writing and I guess being influential in any way.”

That woman’s word came true the following year when Victoria was asked to be a part of Sadie Robertson’s Live Original brand. Victoria was reached out to over social media to write and create for the platform, along with a team of more than a dozen other ambassadors.

It became a catalyst to her passion for writing and seeing her gift expand.

“Nothing in the natural could equate to why they would ask me,” Victoria noted about the opportunity. “The only thing I had was the prophetic word that I received from God.”

As Christians, something that most, and even I myself, struggle with daily is tiptoeing the line between the growth in action and the growth in waiting, especially when you feel called to a certain mission, career, or season. Whether that means diving head first into the promise spoken over you, or believing it will fall into your lap.

But Victoria says it’s all about balance, and what God has for you, will come find you.

“You don’t have to jump through all of these hoops,” She added. “Obviously, there’s a fine line between striving and actually doing the work. When you’ve done all that you can do, you wait.”

Despite the accomplishments Victoria had throughout her teenage years and into early adulthood, it took a while for her to see her own potential within herself.

She says following trauma and the challenges of childhood, there were pivotal moments where she thought, “If I would have just believed in myself – that I was more than capable – where would I be?”

Victoria’s potential was something not only she noticed within herself, but the adults around her noticed as well.

That includes her agriculture teacher in high school, when something as simple as missing out on a leadership position in a club became a defining moment that would shape the way she viewed life.

“Deep down, I wanted to be president or vice president,” Victoria she told me as she recounted the moment she applied for a lower position, feeling like her classmates had more accolades and were a better fit for the bigger roles.

But her teacher thought differently, telling Victoria she would’ve given her any position she chose to apply for.

“That was a hard pill to swallow, but it was very eye opening, “Victoria said. “And I feel like that moment still affects me to this day. I’ve just become undignified in a way of like, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ God has truly put something on the inside of me and it’s my job to tap into it.”

If you take another look at the Victoria of today, not only will you notice the grace, gentleness, and meekness – you’ll notice her passion for style and expressing herself through the art of fashion.

It was at a discipleship school a few years back when the Lord unlocked a desire that had already found itself stitched into her heart.

“My collective was leather, so I basically learned how to make journals, bags, wallets, the whole shebang,” Victoria said. “The Lord was basically like, ‘Your dreams are still on my heart.’ And I said, ‘Oh, why aren’t they on mine?’ That’s when I fell back in love with fashion.”

Victoria started working with close friends, styling them for concerts and shoots, and reaching out to acquaintances to build her own portfolio.

She says the Lord surrounded her with people, opportunities, and experiences to help build her own brand.

“The Lord met me with what I had,” Victoria said. “I didn’t have to spiral and think, ‘I don’t have the means to be a stylist.’ The Lord has taught me along the way.”

She says style is less about clothes and more about knowing who you are. That’s where her media brand Victorian Avenue comes in.

Victoria wants it to go beyond styling and help people tap into their own potential.

“We want you to pause and ask yourself those hard questions,” She added about the brand, set to launch this summer. “We want to give you the space to figure it out and then give you the courage to actually be those things. I feel like I’m speaking to common experiences and for an industry yearning for a solution. Yearning to be seen and known.”

The mission of her brand is an overflow of who Victoria is as a person. A dreamer who believes in herself, in other people, and her identity through Christ.

For anyone struggling to find their own identity, Victoria put it simply: “Get obsessed with what the Lord says about you. He will always tell you things you need to work on, what He loves about you, what He cares about, what He wants you to see.”

anintrovertedjournalist.com