Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazmyne Courtnii Byrd.
It’s an honor to speak with you today. Why don’t you give us some details about you and your story. How did you get to where you are today?
Well I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I had an awesome childhood. I grew up in church and I have always had a big personality. Both sides of my family were very instrumental in my choice to attend a HBCU. To be honest my first choice was NCAT however Central State University chose me. It was literally 5 of the best and most challenging years of my life. I graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors of Art degree in Psychology and quickly relocated to the DMV. While there journalism found me as well and its been my career for 10 years. In 2014 I decided to give back to the community that gave me so much and I created; The Divah Filez. Which is an online magazine that is run by HBCU students. This online magazine serves as an internship for HBCU students to be able to gain experience and build their portfolio in journalism. Its been a pleasure to watch these students grow and connect with HBCUs in an effort to bring programming to the campuses. We have also created a solid platform for black owned businesses to thrive and expand called; Empower Melanin. We are exposing these businesses through advertising.
I’m sure your success has not come easily. What challenges have you had to overcome along the way?
Being understood. When you decide that a 9-5 career path is not for you, others don’t often understand it. So the criticism sometimes rubbed me wrong until I came to grips that God’s plan for me, belongs to me. Its not for anyone other than him and I to understand. Once I got that, than anything else that came just rolled off my back.
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