Donna Faye Reyes, Producer/Host, Fil-Am Now on GMA Pinoy TV

Photo c/o Donna's Facebook account

The University of Southern California (USC) is ranked 60th among the World University Rankings.  It also houses the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. When I was in graduate school, we always looked at this school as the one that is above the rest when it comes to communication and journalism.  I've always dreamed that someday I'll study or visit it. And now it's coming true!  But that is not my story.

I've known her for nearly 20 years, first as a student in my Miriam College radio-TV production class and later on as a colleague and advocate in environmental issues.  For awhile, we lost track of each other, and then got reconnected through social media.  By then, she was married and living in Chicago.  She is the producer/host of Fil-Am NOW aired on GMA Pinoy TV.  It was gratifying for me as a teacher, to find out, that she has bloomed into a responsible media-person and that her love for the motherland has even flourished and deepen.

A few months ago, she requested that I write a letter of recommendation for her application to the Masters in Communication Management at the University of Southern California (USC).  She said is was delivered through distance-mode, and that the programme had a strong emphasis on social media.  I said it was a very timely study and that she would be able to ace it.  Again, I was so humbled when Donna said that her application is actually in God's hands.  This woman who has seen the world, in all it's many facets, still believes in Divine Providence!

A month ago, she informed me that she got accepted at USC.  Here's a short Q&A we did many months ago, way before she decided to enroll for her Master's.

Q: Name 3 people living or dead, you'd like to have dinner with, why?
A: Cheche Lazaro, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres.  They all broke norms and taboos in media, became very successful in what they did and have changed and continue to change people's lives.

Q: If you could travel back in time, where and when would it be, why?
A: I would travel into the future---when I'm 50 to see if I became successful in what my college professor believed I could do.

Q: What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
A: There are many challenges---limited resources is a big one (shameless plug: We accept donations for Fil-Am NOW!)  But I realize that there is one challenge that is even bigger than this: ME and my view of my own limitations.  Somebody said, "If you think, you can't, you're right.  If you think you can, you're right too."  There are obviously practical ways to overcome challenges but it all starts with what we believe in.

I just launched a TV show that I am co-producing and co-hosting, literally two days ago.  I want to see where it takes me.  I'm too excvited to wait. Haha.