Today we’d like to introduce you to Mara Peverini.
Hi Mara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I moved to the United States in the summer of 2018. I have always dreamed of moving to the United States since I was a little girl. I love this country, its diversity, but also how unified it is. Everyone comes from a different place but feels part of the same nation. The US is the land of infinite opportunities. Everything you dream and want to achieve you can do it here. Obviously, this journey has came with its challenges, especially ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started. I was aware that being away from my family would have been hard, but never have I ever imagined that I would have spent 2 years without seeing them. I moved from Rome, Italy to Mount Pleasant, Michigan. My first few months at Central Michigan University have definitely been hard. I had no friends, everything was different. I met people with different personalities to what I was used to, not better not worse, but different. So, making friends at first wasn’t easy. I found myself dealing alone with a bunch of things that were different from what I was used to, and there was nobody there being able to help me figuring them out, not even my parents. People for the most have been nice to me, But I met also many people judging me for my origins, thinking that I could have not achieve something the way I was supposed to because from a different country. None of these things have stopped me from staying focus on the big picture, which was staying in this country and become the professional I wanted to be. I have always been very fascinated by American television. I wasn’t sure right away in my life what I wanted to become, what kind of contribution I wanted to bring to this world. American television inspired my career, I knew I wanted to be part of that creating aspect that is behind a successful show. That’s what led me to start off my career in News. I am currently the morning producer for WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids. I just started this new job, and I love it. I was a news producer right before that in Lansing for WILX TV10. When I was in Rome I got a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in International relations. I also got a second Master’s right here in the USA in Broadcast and Journalism; I think my studies did help me a lot in developing my news and journalism skills
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
To add something tho, professionally I think one of the biggest obstacles was the language. I like to think that after almost 4 years living here, I am perfectly bilingual. And working in the news industry definitely helped me achieving exceptional writing skills. But at times that still comes with some challenges. Something that mentally is exhausting for me is making sure that my writing is perfect at any time. I want to professionally not be considered less than my colleagues for my language barriers. I know it’s not possible to achieve that at any time, and let’s face it… not even natives save themselves from misspellings.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a news producer my job is to select news based on the audience that engages the most with my product. Newscasts have different audiences based on the time of the day. I like producing my show because it gives me the chance to be more creative. We report hard news, but people first in the morning when they wake up want to also hear cheering news and feature stories. Other than selecting the news, it’s my job to decide how to portrait them on tv to make the product more engaging. I also take care of graphics and to select videos. I am definitely most proud of the way I portrait stories. I like to think of myself as a viewer and thinking “How would I like to learn about this story?”. So many stories have the potential to be engaging and it’s what makes a producer good spotting the potential of that story and making sure people pay attention to it.
What matters most to you?
I think what matters the most to me is to make sure that I am in a good place mentally and emotionally. So many things can’t be achieved if we don’t care of ourselves in the first place. I give myself the time to be stressed out, but I also give myself a break at times to make sure I find myself again and prioritize my health over many other things. I like to invest my time in people I really care for, and things that can improve my happiness, my career and that can be beneficial on my journey. I learned to keep the stress to a minimal level for things that are a waste of my time. Either that’s people I don’t care for or something that it’s not good for me
Contact Info:
- Email: marapeverini@gmail.com
- Website: https://marapeverini.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marapeverini/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmAYHTVgFnOE92sAl4jOV_Q
Image Credits
Mara Peverini
