Meet Toni Hall

Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Hall.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Toni. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, my story started back in 2007. I was a 10-year-old dyslexic, slow learning child who didn’t see much for their future. I was so insecure about myself I even tried hiding from myself. Crazy to say that cause how can you hide from yourself? Going to school was extremely hard. I’d have to go to resource classes (extra help classes) to take a test or do any assignments because It was hard for me to retain any material. Truth is I didn’t care about school. I just wanted to try and make friends. It wasn’t until the summer going into my 8th-grade year I realized that I had an extreme love for smooth jazz music. At the time the most convent way I was able to listen to smooth jazz was on The Weather Channel during the local on the 8s. I would watch The Weather Channel before school and after. This is what made me different from my friends, I loved the weather and jazz music. I dreamed of becoming a meteorologist and telling the weather to the world. Fast forward to 2015. This was my first year of college. I had planned on going to Texas A&M University in college station to pursue my love for weather. I ended up going to Prairie View A&M (an HBCU) for my first year with full intentions of transferring to Texas A&M. My SAT scores weren’t where they needed to be in order to go the first time around. So here I am at Prairie View and I didn’t think I was going to like it because I had a strategic plan you know. I was going to go to Texas A&M to study meteorology and that was it. Well crazy to say I never left Prairie View. I ended up falling in love with the school. So here I am at the end of my freshman year making the decision to give up on my plan of being a meteorologist and one day working for The Weather channel. So, boom here I am now trying to figure out what I want to do in my life. I decided to try News learned that not me. Then I decided to venture out to the business side of media. Learned that I can move throughout that industry. So, let’s do one more jump. Senior year fall semester of 2018. I’m sitting in my room crying because I just received news, I was denied from a company I really wanted to intern with for the summertime. Less than 2 minutes after I was done crying a friend of mine sends me this message. In the message, it was a fellowship program opportunity. This wasn’t just an ordinary fellowship this was the IRTS Summer fellowship program which is the top media and entertainment fellowship hosted in New York. It’s a 9-week program with all expenses paid. The purpose of the fellowship is to match you with a top media company that best relates to you and your interest while learning the true ins and outs of media. Making connections with others within the industry is also highly recommended. Some of the top/respected people in media today had gone through this program. It is highly competitive. So, I apply. I made it pass round one, then round 2, and boom here we are round 3. Rounds 1-2 were essay-based and the third and final round was an over the phone interview. Here I am preparing for my phone interview on a foggy spring morning nervous yet excited at the same time. My phone rings and I allow it to ring for 2 seconds while I stare at the screen taking a deep breath before answering. I answer the phone and it’s a woman on the other line. She begins the interview and off the jump we build this connection with each other. We aren’t even able to continue the interview because our energy had transcribed through the phone as if we were long lost friends. She was telling me that over 1,300 applicants had applied for this program and 40 where selected. She said Toni I want you to be a part of this. This program was designed for people like you. I just continued to say thank you repeatedly because I was in such a state of shock that this interview was going so well. Then the phone got quiet for a second. The lady on the other end was like I have more good news for you. I listened in closer. At that moment she said I think I found the perfect internship for you. She continued to ask me how would you feel if you had the opportunity to intern at The Weather Channel. I froze and had to ask her to repeat herself. Once again, she said Toni would you like to intern at The Weather Channel in the advertising sales department? When I tell you, I dropped to my knees and begin crying and worshiping God immediately. With intense happiness, I said yes! I just want to inspire others with my story. Even in cases when we give up God had other ideas in mind. Now I am an intern at The Weather Channel in New York city all expensed paid trip networking and building connecting throughout the industry. I am the first EVER from my school to even participate in the program. Because of this, I am able to build a better network for our communication student at school who don’t get opportunities like this. I’m truly blessed. Never stop. Keep grinding cause trust me it will work out for you.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road is never smooth. If the road is smooth, then there is a serious issue. Some of the obstacles I faced along the way was doubt, uncertainty, confusions, lack of creativity, and laziness. My first internship, after I decided to stay a Prairie View, was at ABC13 as an assignment desk intern my sophomore year. ABC 13 is ranked at number 8 in the market for news media. This is a big deal. This is a dream come true I’m working at an ABC affiliate don’t mess up. Well, I messed up, I actually got fired because I wasn’t consistently late, and I didn’t come in on certain days I was supposed to come in. Definitely my fault. Now the station is about 45 min away from my school. I had to be there at 5 am. I knew this internship was a big deal, but my heart wasn’t in it. During this time, I was battling emotions. I didn’t understand what I wanted nor the seriousness of the workforce. There is no way you can finest the system. I begin to go into a dark place because I knew eventually the action, I did would catch up to me. I was low. I felt like I was by myself because no one understood that I just gave up on a dream and now I’m trying to figure out my next move like chess. I began to do some research on depression and anxiety. After I got fired, I would stay in my room and not come out as much because I knew I had embarrassed myself and my career. Well, one day I said enough is enough. No more stilling in my mess, let’s get up and own what happens so we can move on. I did just that. I began to watch motivating videos that fired up my soul. I just wanted to get out of the runt I was in. I took some time for myself to observe the transition before and after the situation. My advice to anyone who is going through it is going through it. Pain is temporary, it doesn’t last forever. Learn for everything including your mistake. We go through specific things to build character.

Tell us about your work. What should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
So, I don’t actually own a business, but I do interview celebrities and create voice-overs for advertisements and documentaries. I want to eventually make that my own business, but I am still in the preparation stages. So, I say I specialize in deep journalism when it comes to my interviews with celebrities. I like to go deeper than surface questions. I like to tape into people’s minds and figure out their way of thinking, that why I say deep journalism. For the voice-overs, I just try and make sure my voice is up to par and I drink a lot of tea. It’s about the annunciation of words. You want them to flow, make people envision the story you are speaking. My proudest moment would have to be an interview I did with Dr. Mathew Knowles, owner, and CEO of Music World Entertainment or Beyonce and Solange dad. It was a very deep interview. He was so surprised that the interview went well that after the interview was done, he told his manager to hand me a business card and told me to stay in contact.
AMAZING MOMENT. I believe what sets me apart is my voice, personality and the way I go about situations. I am truly blessed. I have the ability to build a relationship with just about anyone. I would say I’m a hustler and the way I go about my business is different. I like to work lowkey and behind the scene. I’ve had numerous peers say I’m a “Hidden Gem” which I can see why they say this but honestly I’m just trying to succeed. I rather create success in private and know what going on them have everyone know my next move.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success! that the word of a lifetime. We, as a human race, all have our own definitions of success. How I go by defining it is unique. I believe success is where happiness lives. I know when people think of success a lot of time it has to deal with money, which I do agree with, but life is more than money.
Success to me is when I’m at my happiest. Continuously receiving progressive opportunities in my field is a success. Another realm of success to me is having the ability to take care of myself (mentally, physically, and emotionally), family, and my friends, then turn around and bless others. I keep a solid group of friends around me. We all are very different, but one thing we have in common is our drive to succeed, that drive to be happy and financially comfortable. Success starts with you but ends with others. When I’m able to give and birth programs to educated blacks or minorities is when I know I have succeeded. A goal of mine is to inspire nations to do better and give. Success plays a factor in everything I do I want others to enjoy the fruits of life just like they deserve.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClYMEixXvXtuUYigM6REpJw
• Phone: 8302210397
• Email: tonihall65@yahoo.com
• Instagram: tmh830
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toni.hall.543
• Twitter: tmh830
• Yelp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-hall-041125143/

Image Credit:
IRTS Foundation

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