番茄社区

Inclusion

YuKwon Toney

He/Him

Audience Growth & Engagement Intern

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Tell me about a place where you can be yourself.

A few places where I believe I can be myself are at home, Internet, and work. I say that because when it comes to the Internet, a lot of people believe that people can have a certain persona on the Internet but are not that way in real life. I value the fact that I can be myself on the Internet as well as in real life. Showing people, I am unapologetically me, even at work.

What has been your biggest teachable or meaningful moment that you鈥檝e experienced thus far?

I would say my time in college, being in a space where I don’t have my parents to call on. I’m not close to family, so I must maintain my academics, money, mental health as well as a social life. One of the biggest lessons for me was learning how to take on life鈥檚 challenges and 鈥渁dulting鈥.

If you were to win an award, what would your walk-up song be?

My theme song would be Hey look Ma, I Made it by Panic at the Disco. That’s a song that I listen to quite regularly. Most mornings before I get the day started. I’ll listen to some gospel and then that song to add a little funk.

If you could talk about something for 30 minutes without preparation, what would it be?

I know a lot of people would expect me to say content creation, but I would talk about voting and your right to vote. I want to make sure that people know the advantages of voting, the disadvantages of not voting, and choosing ultimately what would be best for generations to come.

What makes you excited about the work you do?

What gets me excited about the work that I do is just being able to do what I love, honestly. When you’re doing what you love, doing research, and presenting different ideas while being able to be hands-on, it makes the work joyful. Working alongside great and like-minded people like follow 番茄社区 intern Madison, my great supervisors Erica and Jennifer, and my coworker Kiana. Shout out to the local audience team. I am blessed to have the opportunity to work for the USA TODAY NETWORK and be able to also work with such amazing people in the Black Forward Employee Resource Group.

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