KISH: Tell us about you.
Terrika: I’m Terrika, a 36 year old married stepmom of one from Detroit, MI, residing in Hartford, CT who happens to love sports, and has let that love of sports drive her to become a digital audio producer at the largest sports conglomerate in the world- ESPN. I’m a host, a multimedia journalist, an author, a business owner, and simply a woman trying to leave her mark on the world.
KISH: What is your dream and how will accomplishing your dream benefit you and others?
Terrika: I have many dreams. I dream to be able to put my stepdaughter through college debt free, I dream to be able to live out my passion of being a top WNBA analyst and journalist. I dream to leave this world better than it was when I got here. And I feel that these dreams are attainable. They don’t just benefit me, but my family, my community, and those who need to feel inspired to achieve their own goals and dreams.
KISH: Who or what inspired you to pursue this dream?
Terrika: Myself. My parents. The many people who believed in me and encouraged me. The coaches who pushed me beyond my limits. The way my dreams are set up, it isn’t as simple as one or two things or one distinct person because my community has been behind me and been my biggest cheerleader from Day 1. There aren’t too many people coming from the Eastside of Detroit with success stories. For them, I want to make my City and community just as proud as I want to make my family and friends. So they all inspire me to strive for the very best.
KISH: What challenges have you encountered while pursuing your dream?
Terrika: Plenty. Aside from being a woman, and feeling at times that I am overlooked because of it, or having to defend my sports knowledge in every conversation from some misogynistic human being who doesn’t believe women know the difference between a wheel route and an out route, it would have to be being placed in box of only being capable of one thing. What makes me so special is that I have been able to gain experience in so many areas of this industry that I am comfortable in just about anything. I can write, I can report, I can analyze, I can host, I can moderate, I can act as on-air talent for television or radio; however, because I am most known as a producer, that seems to be the box that most people put me in and leave me in. It is why I am ALWAYS going above and beyond to display that Terrika is certainly not a one-dimensional player. That’s been the most challenging.
KISH: Who or what inspired you to keep pushing regardless of the challenges you’ve encountered?
Terrika: As I mentioned earlier, I have a whole community behind me. My husband pushes me, my ORDA sisters, my Sorors, my Sweetheart sisters, my friends, my mom and even my colleagues. They continue to pour life into me and remind me my journey is far from over, but just beginning and i have to going, I have to keep breaking barriers and I have to keep putting on for E. 7 Mile (Detroit). I don’t want to look back and say, “ I regret…” and if I stop or quit because it got too hard to too challenging, I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror. I have to go hard, no matter the challenge before.
KISH: Please provide final thoughts/advice for others by finishing this sentence… dream.
Terrika: Dream BIG and Dream OFTEN. There’s no goal too small to achieve and there’s no rule that there’s a one dream limit. You can have many dreams, far beyond what the eyes can see and the mind can imagine. Just keep the faith, keep believing in yourself, keep working even when you don’t feel it’s paying off.
