Check Out Niyah Gonzalez’s Story

Niyah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
I never thought I’d be in TV or own my own business. Growing up in Kansas City, both of my parents were entrepreneurs. My step-dad owned a Construction company, and my mom owned a hair salon and booth rented chairs to other stylists around the city. My grandpa has owned the longest-standing hat store in Kansas City. People travel from all over the world to shop at his store. You could say “entrepreneurship” is in my blood, I hadn’t realized it until recently.

As a kid, I was always super animated. I had a karaoke machine, and I’d use it to go around the house to “interview” my family at Christmas or Thanksgiving gatherings. I was never a shy child, and I’ve always been that way.

Fast forward to high school, I picked up a basketball for the first time my freshman year. At the time, my school had won back-to-back State Championships, and most of the girls playing were really good and had been playing since they could walk. But the delusion in me said I should try out. Despite many people urging me not to try out and discouraging me from playing, I made the team. That’s where I found my first love, and things sort of began.

Going into High School, I also joined my school’s Newspaper club. I wrote features and covered sports. My favorite classes in high school were Journalism, Video production, and photography, but I never thought about a future in TV. I really just enjoyed being creative and telling stories.

College is extremely important in my family, despite everyone being entrepreneurs.  I was a first-generation college kid; My parents didn’t go to college, my grandparents didn’t go to college, but I was always told I needed a degree to get a good job. At the time, a good job to me was a Doctor and I actually thought I wanted to pursue a career in Medicine.

My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school, so the summer before my junior year of high school, I decided to take basketball seriously. I joined an AAU team and played nonstop. Any chance I got to go to the gym or dribble the ball outside, I was practicing. I played all Summer and finally got pulled up from JV to Varsity by the end of Junior year season. I’ll never forget the first recruitment letters I got in the mail from Colleges. All my hard work was paying off, and I knew it would help me pay for college.

I went on a couple visits, and my last visit was to Denison University in Granville, Ohio. It was a private Liberal Arts school. Tuition was about $75k a year, and parents were definitely paying that price tag. I mean, kids were driving BMW’s and Range Rovers to campus. It was like a culture shock for me. I met with the team and went on a campus tour. When I left to go home, I just knew that was the place for me. I couldn’t explain it, but it felt special. I didn’t have that feeling leaving the other schools I visited.

My freshman year, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in, but I figured I liked teeth, so I’ll shoot for dental school and major in Chemistry or Biology. JOKE WAS ON ME! I dropped out of my classes so fast. It wasn’t for me at all. I wasn’t interested in anything we were learning, and I was extremely bored. Not to mention, I was always a straight-A student, so failing an exam sent me on my way to the Registrar’s office. I needed to switch my major and I decided on Communications.

During my four years at Denison, I joined the Husky News Network. I got to do color commentary for the Women’s volleyball games. That was my first taste of anything broadcast related. I also joined HerCampus, an online magazine. I wrote student spotlights, fashion pieces, and feature stories. By the time I was graduating, I figured it out. I was going to be a Sports Reporter like Robin Roberts. As I started studying sports and media, I became obsessed with Robin Roberts and her story. I read every single book she wrote, and I was determined to get a job in TV.

I remember researching journalism schools, and keep in mind I was from a state that was home to one of the best in the country. Mizzou! However, I had no plans on going back home. I was afraid that if I went back home, I’d never leave. I applied to Emerson College and Northeastern, both located in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ll never forget the Summer before going. It was a constant fight with my dad. He didn’t want me to go to Boston and tried everything he could to convince me to stay. “Where will you live? How are you going to afford to live? What about student loans? What if something happens to you, we can’t get there quickly?” He was working hard!!! Honestly, we were all scared. I had never been that far away from home before, and I really didn’t have a plan. I just knew I was going to school there and I was going to figure it out.

One day as my mom was working, she received a phone call. Apparently, we had family in Boston, and they offered to let me stay with them while I was in school. I had never met them before and it was kind of tough to accept such an offer. My parents were the type of people who worked for everything they had. They taught us to never take anything for free from anyone and to do everything ourselves. It took a lot of trust and letting go of our pride to accept the offer. If it hadn’t been for my Aunt Veronica and her husband Pat, I probably would’ve been in Kansas City and never left. It was a huge blessing and one that truly changed my life. It taught me so many valuable lessons and I’ll forever be grateful for the kindness, love and support they showed me, even as they were facing their own hardships.

So, I had a place to live and I enrolled in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern. I was working at Banana Republic while I was going to school and one of my co-workers happened to work at a local news station at the time. She and I were talking, and I was telling her where I was going to school and what I wanted to do. Coincidentally, she was leaving the news station to move to Maine for an Anchor job. That meant her spot was opening up. She asked me to send my resume to her, and a few weeks later, I accepted my first TV job as an associate producer at WHDH-7.

Things were just falling into place. God was just pulling strings left and right for me. I couldn’t believe how easily things were happening.

Not to mention, I was the only “broadcast” focused student in my program. That meant I got a lot of one-on-one time with my professor, Mike Beaudet. He taught me everything from speaking and dressing for TV to doing my makeup and shooting my own video. He taught me EVERYTHING.

He was also an investigative reporter at WCVB in Boston. He helped me put my resume reel together and sent it to all of his contacts.

In 2018, a few months before I graduated, I accepted my first on-air job in Omaha, Nebraska as a general assignment TV reporter. I still had the dream to be a sports reporter, but I knew I had to take the job to get my foot in the door.

I worked crazy hours! I was going in at 2am and leaving work at 10am. It was such a huge adjustment. I had no idea working in TV would be as hard as it was. Nothing could prepare you for the hustle and bustle of the TV business.

I was in Omaha for two years, and by the end of my second year, God pulled another string. Our main Sports anchor, who had been there for years, was leaving. The sports department desperately needed help. I sent my news director an email asking for the opportunity to work in the Sports department, and he said yes! They gave me a camera and a tripod, and I was shooting football, volleyball and basketball games. I didn’t get to Anchor or report, but I used those opportunities to create fake stand-ups as if I was reporting live. One of my closest friends at work helped me set up a sportscast so I pretended to Anchor a live show and he recorded it for me to use as an audition tape.

As soon as I had everything I needed for my tape, I edited it together and posted it on LinkedIn. My contract ended in March 2020. I accepted a full-time Evening weekday News/Sports Anchor gig in Waco, Texas, a month later, in February. I was Anchoring the 5pm, 6pm and 10pm Newscasts and our Friday night Sportscast! I won my first Emmy award for a Black History Month News Special, Uncovering Our History. It showcased the triumphs and struggles the black community faced in Waco.

I’d say Waco is where I truly grew as a journalist, and things just clicked for me. My confidence grew and I felt like I had something to say, and people listened. The friends I made in my newsroom are friendships that will last forever.

Now, I’m here in Dallas! A Top 10 market and a dream come true. I am the DFW Anchor for Spectrum News Texas, a statewide News Network owned by Charter Communications.

I have absolutely fallen in love with this city. I never imagined the little girl running around interviewing her family at Christmas dinner would end up in one the fastest growing cities in the country. To say I feel blessed is an understatement.

I moved to Dallas in June of 2022 and have made so many connections. It opened my eyes to something more. I honestly thought I may retire working in TV and maybe that’s still in the cards for me. But my love and passion for storytelling has led me toward a path of entrepreneurship.

In March 2023, I launched my own digital marketing agency, Essocial Co. My news background and creative storytelling has become my secret ingredient for helping Dallas businesses tell their stories and connect with customers. It’s the perfect mix of technology and creativity. While I’m still working as an Anchor and TV is my first love, Essocial Co has become my baby. I wake up thinking about it and go to sleep thinking about how I can continue growing and scaling my business.

I’ve worked with medspas, networking groups, jewelry stores, skincare companies, you name it! I’ve helped create digital marketing strategies for several businesses to help them grow and reach a larger audience. Who knows, maybe my agency will make the connection back to my Sports roots someday!

I’ve only been in Dallas for two years, but I see so much potential for the things I can do in this City.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has been smooth in the sense that I’ve always had help or someone there to lift me up. Every job and every opportunity has come because someone helped me get there. The hard part is feeling like you’re not good enough. There have been times in my career where I have imposter syndrome, and I’m self-conscious about everything I’m doing because I want to be the best. I don’t like making mistakes, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that my mistakes are what helped me grow. 

The TV business is cut throat. You’ll meet lots of nice people, but you’ll also meet a lot of not-so-nice people. I’ve had a News Director force me to cut off my hair to make me look “older.” But that’s the kind of stuff we have to deal with sometimes. Playing sports taught me mental toughness and working through adversity.

I think my biggest challenge now is finding my identity outside of TV and how I want to make an impact, especially as a Black and Latina woman. I feel a certain pressure and responsibility with the platform I have to highlight both communities and uplift my brothers and sisters. So, I’m trying to navigate stepping into a new career field while also thinking about how to continue building community.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am known for being a TV Personality, but as I’ve done more work through Essocial Co, I’m becoming known as the girl who tells stories for local businesses specializing in social media management and content creation. My company does everything from building websites and branding development to product photography and content creation.

People confuse marketing with just promoting a product, service or brand. They often forget about the storytelling part of the business. I think that is what sets me apart. It comes natural to me because it’s what I’ve been doing for nearly a decade in TV. There’s an authenticity in how I’m developing marketing plans for my clients and how my clients are able to organically connect to their audience. My first thought isn’t how do I sell this? My first thought is how can I tell a story about this “thing” that connects with people that then makes them want to spend their money? If people can relate and feel connected to something, they will spend their money on it.

My friends and family always joke around, saying, “Niyah is always just doing stuff!” That’s been my M.O. pretty much my entire life. I’ve always just kind of did stuff. I didn’t think about failing or what would happen if. I’ve always had the mentality of I’ll try it and I’ll figure it out when I get there. That was the case with me trying out for the basketball team. I didn’t play basketball, but I wanted to just try it. “Just trying it” got College paid for! I’ve never really been afraid of what others say or think. If I think about it and I feel like I can do it, I’m going for it.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I wouldn’t say I have a specific childhood memory, but I have a huge family. Any time the entire family gets together is my favorite. We usually get together after Church for Sunday brunch at my grandparents house. My tias, tios, cousins, everyone! We are all really close. I’ve grown up with so much love. I’m almost 30 years old, and when I go home, my aunts will say I’ll always be the baby of the family. My family means the world to me.

I can’t end this interview without acknowledging how much God has done for me throughout my life. He has placed people in my life at the right times, when I needed it the most, that helped get me to where I am today. The amount of kindness, support and encouragement I’ve received from people I know and even people I don’t know has been the biggest blessing. Throughout my career I’ve had people give me countless opportunities, some I wasn’t qualified for, but I always worked hard and seized every moment. God gave me an incredible work ethic and ability to adapt to different environments. Even as I step into a new chapter in life, I know God has an amazing plan for me because of everything he’s already done. I’m really excited for what’s to come!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/NiyahGonzalez
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niyah.gonzalez
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niyahgonzalez