My Life My Choice.

A survivor led sex trafficking center focused on prevention & advocacy. For those who don’t know, learning about sex trafficking actually inspired me to become a journalist. Let me explain.

Rewind to 2016. I was a sophomore in college with this notion that I wanted to create the 1st ever children’s show teaching kids ASL. I was so fascinated with sign language at the time.. but really not enough to embrace my life long career around it. 

At the time, I was taking a Geography course and the professor always gave extra credit opportunities. One was to see a film airing right after class. I wasn’t doing anything that day, so I thought why not. 

The film was “Sold” It’s one of the most heart-wrenching movies you’ll ever watch. It’s about the brutality of a girl who is trafficked at 13. I remember watching the movie sobbing.. shocked, furious and sad this happens. & most of all I felt ignorant. Because before that day, I didn’t even know sex trafficking was a thing. From that day on, I wanted to use my knowledge of media to make others aware of the untold stories of the world. 

That summer my internship asked me to make a video on anything I was passionate about. I interviewed many trafficking survivors, including Rachel Lloyd! I was BEYOND excited. But for reasons I can’t explain, I lost ALL my footage. All of it. I was extremely disappointed in myself, since I had a really great piece going. But I had to let it go.

Fast forward to now, I work for my local news station, edit for both a voting rights nonprofit and a black news magazine, & do freelance work. I do A LOT, but I always think about the piece I never got to finish. Then I met Dominga, the director for this piece. And here we are.

It feels full circle being the editor for this project. It’s the video I never got to finish 5 years ago. It’s also the perfect kick off for my brand, QV.

Listening to the stories of survivors changed my life. I hope the video impacts yours x