Hornet Profile: Tameka Shockley   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH2ieqxo-bA

By Kierra Chandler

You’ve seen her running around the ETV, dashing from one event to another. But we  caught up with her and sat her down for a personality interview!

Tameka Shockley is a Senior Mass Communications major coming to us from Bear, Delaware. She can be seen ruling the school from the ETV building where she spends most of her time. Ms. Shockley is the Director of Public Relations for WDSU Radio, the President of the National Association of Black Journalists, a member of Public Relations Student Society of America and the Editor and Chief of the Mass Comm. Message Magazine. She is a vibrant and happy, young woman who is taking over the world one day at a time. We were able to sit down with her and talk to her about her childhood, hobbies, goals and aspirations in life and she gave us wonderful and insightful information.

Text of Interview:

Question: Can we get to meet the man behind the title? Where were you born and what was your upbringing like?

A. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27th, 1995. I quickly moved to Bear, Delaware at the age of 3 and had a wonderful upbringing. I participated in field hockey, basketball, track and field, student council, DECA, and various scholarship programs. I graduated from William Penn High School in 2014.

Question: Who has been the greatest influence in your life that has impacted the woman you are today?

A. The greatest Influence on my life so far has probably been my younger cousins. At first as I was growing up, it was my mother and grandmother, but the older I get the more I realize that these younger children are looking up to me and watching my every move and so I must be on my best behavior so that they follow in my footsteps.

Question: What about your family?

A. My family is a wonderful support system for me. They have always cheered me on in everything I do. I am a middle child. I have two older sisters and a younger brother, and they recognize my middle child syndrome and give me all the extra attention I yearn for.

Question: Can you tell us of your education history and what your goals or life ambition?

A. I went to Southern Elementary School, Gunning Bedford Middle School, William Penn High School and even did my first two semesters of college at Neumann University. I realized that the Mass Communications program there was not moving fast enough or in the direction I wanted to go and decided to transfer back home to Delaware State University, where my major is in Mass Communications and my concentration is in Public Relations and Advertising. I took up a minor my sophomore year in Women’s Gender Studies as well.

Some of my goals as a college student have been to learn as much as I can. Take up as many opportunities as possible and leave here with all of the necessary communicative tools I possibly can. I want to be able to walk out of here with a degree and a full-time career in Public Relations as a Brand Campaign Manager. 

Question: Can you tell us of your job experience prior to coming to Delaware State University?

A. Before I ran the mass communication student orgs, I worked regular jobs at Papa Johns, Journeys Shoe Store and Charlotte Russe. The average early adult retail and food industry jobs.

Question: What was the most memorable point at those jobs?

A. One of my most memorable points at these jobs was that I was always helping people which is something I love to do. I also enjoyed the various discounts.

Question: Is this where you thought you’d be 5 or 10 years ago?

A. Yes, 5 or 10 years ago at ages 17 and 12 respectively, I knew I would be in college and I knew I would be involved. But no, I did not know that I would be in Public Relations because I didn’t know that this was what it was called, I thought I wanted to simply be a journalist like Oprah because she is an idol of mine, but I watched an episode of a show called “The Spin Crowd” on E! featuring publicists and I realized where my true passion was.

Question: What informed your decision on doing what you’re doing now?

A. Mostly the scholarship programs I was in helped me. I was mentored by a lot of educated strong female leaders and they guided me to the path that I am on as far as attending my HBCU and getting into the communications major.

Question: With the different positions you hold in the Mass Comm. Department, what are your plans for the future?

A. As the Director of Public Relations for WDSU Radio, “The Hive,” I want the radio station to do more campus wide activities. I think we should have a hand in homecoming as far as the music and entertainment goes. I would love to see us have people call in to compete for concert tickets like most regular stations do. 

• As the Editor- in- Chief of the Mass Comm. Message Magazine, I would love to see the magazine flourish and continue to win awards. I also would like to see more video components to the amazing stories being told in the Mass Comm. Department.
• As the President of the Public Relations Student Society, I would love to see us become the PR headquarters for all of the OSLA organizations. I think it would be great if the students took on other student orgs as clientele and guided them in planning as real publicists do so that students can have the most experience possible in their portfolios. I would also like to start sending students to the national yearly conference.
• As the President of the National Association of Black Journalists, I would like to see more and more students going to the national yearly conference as I have benefited from it. I would also like to see them host more events and have all the mass communications students be active members of the campus chapter.

Question: What kind of advice would you offer a student, who is undecided on his or her career path?

A. I would advise them to try everything at least once and don’t be afraid of new opportunities. I would also advise them to find mentors working directly where they think they might see themselves and if they are still unsure after that, then to go to career services where they can receive a lot of help.

Question: How would you describe the state of higher education in America today?

A. I would describe the state of higher education in America as very important. Also as an area that needs a lot of attention and reform. So many young adults are jumping into college because that is the idea they have been fed since they started kindergarten. Although it is a great option it is important to know that it is not the only one.

Question: What does the future hold for America?

A. For America the future seems to be troublesome. We are living in a country with an interesting President and we are constantly holding our breath as he holds our fate. I think that we are coming around to realize that we cannot leave a blind eye to politics because that is ultimately what controls everything.

Question: What are your thoughts on DACA?

A. I think that the DACA crisis is huge and is directly in correlation with my last answer concerning our President and the decisions he makes. I recently did an independent study on the Dreamers here at DSU documenting their stories and concerns about their future.

See the video link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH2ieqxo-bA

Question: What are your hobbies or extracurricular activities?

A. I enjoy shopping, hanging out with friends, reading and most of all traveling. It is probably my most favorite thing to do.

Question: Let us end this interview with your philosophy of life. How do you see this life and what principles get you grounded and moving forward?

A. My philosophy in life is to “Go hard for the things that make you happy.” I think that because life is so short that you should. It is important to go for the unthinkable. It’s always important to ask forgiveness and not permission in certain situations because you never know what will come and to shoot for the moon because you will always land amongst the stars. 

Ms. Shockley’s ultimate advice to students is to make the most out of their college experience. “There is power in having coffee with the people you admire. Networking is everything and time management is key. Find a mentor and be on your A game. Life is too short to not go after everything that makes you happy,” says Miss Mass Comm., a term she hears around the building often.

If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to her through email at tlshockley15@students.desu.edu or find her on campus, most likely with a latte in hand.