Welcome to my online portfolio!
I'm a weekend morning anchor and multi-skilled journalist for WBIR-TV News10 and the author of Deviate From Denial. I moved to Knoxville, TN in June 2024, and have loved getting to explore the area.
I grew up in the beautiful city of Lexington, KY. When I was in middle school, I got involved with my school's speech and debate team. After competing in the Radio Broadcasting category for two years, I discovered my passion for broadcast. Through crafting scripts with a combination of local, national, international, sports, and weather news, I got a glimpse at what a career in the broadcast industry would look like.
Instantly, I knew I was hooked. My newfound interest took me to Athens, GA, where I studied journalism and Spanish at the University of Georgia. In college, I interned for CNN's Southeast News Bureau in Atlanta. I also served as a reporter for Grady Newsource, News Director for WUOG 90.5 FM's news program, The Athens Journal, worked as the 2020-21 recruitment manager for the student-run newspaper, The Red & Black, and worked as a Yarbrough Communications Fellow on Grady's PR and graphics team. I also interned at Spectrum News 13 Orlando, Seacrest Studios, and WKYT News.
In May 2022, I graduated with a degree in journalism and in Spanish from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences before moving to Columbia, SC where I worked as a multi-skilled journalist and fill-in anchor at WLTX-TV News19. As a part of the Street Squad team, I covered Sumter County. While in the Palmetto State, I also had the privilege of covering a variety of different stories from six weeks of the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial to updates on legislation in the State House to University of South Carolina Gamecocks' journeys to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl and Dallas for the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four. In 2024, I received the Reporter of the Year award from the South Carolina Broadcasters Association. Now, I love exploring East Tennessee both on-and-off the clock.
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REEL
I've written a book!
My book Deviate from Denial is available as a paperback, hardcover, e-book and an audiobook! I wrote this book because the opioid epidemic is affecting millions of lives and I know that somehow, we have to work together toward a solution. I am inspired by my parents, who opened a restaurant that hires people in recovery from substance use disorder. Through their business, I have met so many incredible employees with really touching stories and I knew that telling their stories and starting a conversation about addiction was the best way I could help.
My hope for this book is to share about just how many people addiction affects. We have a big problem on our hands, and in order to try and fix it, we first need to erase the stigma surrounding addiction, which we can only do if we try to understand it.
You will enjoy this book if you know someone struggling with addiction or if you have firsthand experience with it. If want to learn more about the topic and how we can work together on erasing the stigma, this book is for you.
Deviate from Denial speaks to those suffering from addiction and their loved ones who want to grapple with erasing the stigma of addiction through starting the conversation.
If you are interested in ordering a copy, please click the button below.
MY WORK
GET IN TOUCH
- Knoxville, TN 37917
- sperez2@wbir.com