Koffee ChitChat
Koffee ChitChat
The Confidence Chronicles: Bridging the Gap for Future Leaders
Step into the dynamic world of journalism and pageantry with Taylor Martin, a vibrant host and journalist whose journey exemplifies resilience and empowerment. Inspired by her childhood idol and armed with a powerful message, Taylor navigated the complex landscape of journalism while breaking boundaries as a pageant queen. From her first faltering steps in pageantry to standing confidently on the news desk, she has embraced every challenge as a valuable lesson, reminding us all that success is multi-faceted and rarely linear.
In our engaging conversation, we dive deep into Taylor’s fascinating experiences that sculpted her talent. Discover how the pain of failure guided her transformation, instilling unwavering confidence and the grit needed to thrive in competitive environments. As she shares her unique perspective on confidence, we explore the significant role mentorship can play in shaping future leaders. Taylor's initiative, Bridge the Gap, epitomizes her commitment to uplifting others, particularly young women facing financial barriers—giving them a chance to shine in fields often marked by obstacles and adversity.
Join us as we discuss the importance of authenticity, determination, and the courage to step out of comfort zones. Taylor’s story is especially inspiring for those pursuing careers in journalism or seeking to claim their space in pageantry. What can we learn from her experiences? How can we foster a nurturing environment for the next generation of women leaders? Taylor's journey motivates listeners to dream beyond limits while equipping them with the insights needed to overcome their struggles.
Engage with us further as we encourage you to reflect on your own experiences and consider how you can contribute to building an empowering community. If this episode resonates with you, don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave us a review. Join the movement towards uplifting voices through collaboration, mentorship, and shared experiences!
Hey y’all hey, don’t miss the next episode of Koffee Chitchat!!
Hey y'all. Hey, it's your girl, paula, with another exciting episode of Coffee Chit Chat. But you know how we do it Before we introduce our special guest, we're going to shout out our Coffee of the Week, which is a white chocolate mocha. So our special guest today is Ms Taylor. Martin Taylor is a passionate TV journalist, morning reporter and host of Morning Mix on WRDW in the Augusta, georgia area. She is the reign in America's idea of Miss Peach State and has held multiple titles over her nearly 10 years in the industry. She also serves as an Instagram live host for Beauty Queens galore, and we'll chat about that later. Taylor is passionate about encouraging others, especially our next generation leaders, to achieve their wildest dreams. Her platform, bridge the Gap, focuses on instilling confidence and keys to success in our future leaders. She is also working on expanding Bridge the Gap to begin providing sponsorship and guidance for young women facing financial hardship to compete in pageants. So welcome, welcome, taylor, to Coffee Chit Chat. We are so happy that you took time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to talk. Oh yeah, oh yeah. You are doing such great things.
Speaker 1:So we just want to chat it up a little bit and we're going to start with your journey to journalism. Oh yeah, oh yeah. You are doing such great things. So we just want to chat it up a little bit and we're going to start with your journey to journalism. Can you share with us how your journey in journalism began?
Speaker 2:Well, in high school, you know everybody trying to figure out what they want to do when they graduate and what they want to go to college for. I initially wanted to be a nurse, and math and science were not my strong suits. In high school, I decided on what I considered to be my strength. Maybe would be reading and writing, and I was always inspired by and interested in watching news in the Atlanta Georgia area.
Speaker 2:Jovita Moore was really big journalist before she passed away. She was really a big inspiration for me. She was always involved in the community and then I just see her every day on the news and I get home from work. So I was like, okay, maybe this is something that I can try out, and my mom put me in my first pageant in 2017. I was 17 years old and that helped me build public speaking skills. So I went off to college at Kennesaw State University and majored in journalism and emerging media and that is what you know helped me to get the skills, get my bearings. But Kennesaw is not a journalism school. They're better for more of like a nursing or other career path. So I really had to work my senior year to get a lot of on-camera experience, especially for internships.
Speaker 2:I didn't have a lot of internships, so I had to use my assignments as the way that I was going to put together my resume reel and put stories together. I did that and in the fall of 2022, I got a job offer in Augusta, Georgia, which is not far from my hometown of Fayetteville, Georgia it's less than three hours away, so that worked for me. I've been here ever since and have climbed my way up the ladder. I started as a multimedia journalist, a reporter, which is basically shooting, writing and editing your own stories, pitching all of that and I began in my role as the morning reporter in the host of Morning Mix in May of 2024.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, that is so awesome, you know what? Especially for you to have a job offer right after college. That's great.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was definitely a blessing, especially because it's not too far away from home. I can hop on the interstate and be home in a day in less than that, really.
Speaker 1:See, that's great, because I'm told a lot of times in journalism if you want to be a reporter that you have to go someplace like South Dakota or North Dakota. You're right in charge of something.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, it almost happened to. I almost landed in Johnson City, tennessee. I had two job offers. I had one from Johnson City, tennessee, and then that news director was really, you know, waiting for a response. So I was lucky that my news director, I, came to visit the station WRDW here in Augusta where I work now, and by the time, like I said, home in like three hours, so by the time, like I said, home in like three hours, so by the time I got back home to Fayetteville, my news director called me as I was walking to the kitchen to offer me the job. So I was able to accept that and unfortunately decline the one in Johnson City yeah, because you're close to home.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. What a blessing. So what led you to become a morning reporter and you kind of like went into a little bit in the morning host because you started off as a reporter and then now you're a host of a morning mix. So how did all that come about?
Speaker 2:Yes. So of course I started out as a multimedia journalist. I was pitching stories every single day, finding my own interviews, shooting them, editing my stories, writing them, all of that. I was doing that for it was almost about two years and in the spring, the early, the late winter to spring time frame of 2024, we had some very, I'll say, seasoned and experienced journalists and anchors leaving and that had to move things around.
Speaker 2:My colleague and also my friend, zayna Halliburton, was in the position that I am in now on Morning Mix and she was also the morning anchor. There was also a morning reporter who was leaving, so they wanted Zayna to fill the position of the 6 pm anchor because our 6 pm anchor was leaving. So that is a completely different shift than what she was on, so she would no longer be able to do Morning Mix. They offered me the position to be a morning reporter excuse me, slash Morning Mix host, which was a blessing. It was a surprise to me but also really a blessing because the things we talk about on Morning Mix are really exciting to me.
Speaker 2:I also do enjoy being a reporter and being able to have the flexibility of being able to do both. It really does strengthen my skill set and show that I can be fun and serious.
Speaker 1:Okay, I actually caught you, I think, on the one for your birthday.
Speaker 2:And I was like oh, how cool.
Speaker 1:That was very nice, Very nice. So we're just going to shift gears a little bit. You've held multiple titles, including American Idea on the Speech State. What has your experiences and pageants taught you about confidence, self-worth and leadership?
Speaker 2:I would say the biggest thing is your journey to confidence is not linear. Um, I, I started out in 2017. My mom signed me up for my first pageant, didn't know what I was doing at all like kind of not having any information other than maybe watching an episode of toddlers and tiaras was just not not the same thing. Beyond popular belief, that is not the same thing. So I started off, I didn't place in my first pageant and I it really left me feeling I guess you would use the word defeated, just because going into something having no idea about it and not doing well per se for my very first pageant left me feeling defeated.
Speaker 2:But eventually I got a coach and I did all the things that would help me to succeed. So that's when my confidence started to build. I was able to get the public speaking skills able to feel comfortable on stage in front of an audience of people, which also in high school, I did drama as well. So all of those things helped build me into somebody who's confident in front of a crowd and confident in front of people. But as I'm 25 now, so as going into my career and transitioning out of college and all of those things, seeing the way that life can come at you. Sometimes it can really tug at your confidence. So I'll be honest and say over the past couple of years it's been ebbs and flows.
Speaker 2:It really just depends on the day, really just depends on how I feel and of course it might not always appear that way and of course it might not always appear that way, but it's ebbs and flows, and I think that it's taught me to always be fluid and always know that, whatever level of comfortability I'm facing. So if I'm on a day that my confidence is not the best, whatever that is is preparing me for whatever is next. So there might be a girl out there whose confidence is on the all-time low. She's not doing well, and just because I'm doing good, that doesn't mean that I've never been in her shoes before so I can give her advice. I can say, hey, this is what I did, or you know, you're not alone. I felt the way that you felt before. So it's really just taking those uncomfortable situations and learning how to turn them around in not only your favor but somebody else's favor as well.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and I heard you say you received a coach. Excellent, and I heard you say you received a coach, and so I'm assuming we're going to talk a little bit about your platform Bridging the Gap. That's sort of like how you're coaching the younger generation, and that is so excellent because someone helped you and now it's your turn that you can pay it forward.
Speaker 1:So we're going to talk about the Bridge, the Gap. It focuses on instilling confidence in future leaders. What inspired you to create this initiative and how do you hope it impacts the next generation?
Speaker 2:I grew up in a household learning to whom much is given, much is expected or much is required, however you prefer to say that phrase. My mom was on the board of Habitat for Humanity and she did so much and I saw that growing up and saw that level of success. But if you look at statistics and see things about children who come from single parent households, it shows you maybe the complete opposite and that children that come from single parent households won't reach a certain level of success. But I'm a completely different story of what statistics might tell you, and I know that it might not be they come from a single parent household or it may be something else.
Speaker 2:But there are kids out there in this generation that are struggling with things of their own that may make them think that they can't reach a level of success because they either haven't seen somebody do it or because people are telling them they can't do it, or maybe that person is themselves, maybe they're telling themselves they can't do it or say otherwise. The goal of Bridge the Gap number one is to show them what success looks like, despite what your background is, because you know where you come from and whatever your background is does not necessarily define where you'll go, you know, in life. And the second is what I'm working on now is to expand it to a sponsorship program for young women who are facing financial difficulties. Again, coming from a single parent household, I know how expensive it is to compete in any extracurricular activity, especially in pageantry, where things are just astronomically expensive to be competitive.
Speaker 2:You can compete in a pageant, but to be competitive and compete are two different things. Wanting to provide and it doesn't have to be a girl who's never competed before. It can be somebody who's been competing for years and they've just fallen on hard times. But they still have a dream, they still have a goal and they need financial support in order to continue to achieve that. And that is what I want to build at some point and as America's Ideal Miss. If I do win in July, I will be using some of the prize money, some of the scholarship money that is given out to help sponsor a young woman to compete at the national competition the following year, just to pay it forward and because this is the organization that I'm dedicating my time to right now, that I care so much about, I think another young woman should also have the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Oh, that is so awesome. That's just great, especially for you to be so young and thinking so critically and strategically. I love it. And how has staying true to yourself played a role in your own personal and professional growth?
Speaker 2:Well, again going back to Bridge the Gap, I have been able to not only speak to audiences of students across the state of Georgia, but I'm also a part of a mentorship program called Crown Her Mentoring here in the Augusta Georgia area, where we work with multiple different girls, but I also have my own personal mentee. She has her own challenges she's facing, whether that be an attitude problem or whatever it may be. I can dig back into times where I might've dealt with some of the same things she's dealing with and be able to pour into her. So that's how I use some of my own personal growth to make an imprint on the next generation and to be able to build them up while also growing myself as well.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, and I know that pageantry, journalism, all of that stuff, there are some challenges. So can you, um keller, tell how do you overcome some of those challenges? How have you overcome some of those challenges?
Speaker 2:I would say the biggest thing is remembering what the end goal is for pageants or america's ideal miss. Specifically, whatever the challenge is, or I'm remembering, the end goal is to one, of course, win America's ideal mix. But the reason why I want to it's like why? What's your reason why you want to win? It's to help expand, bridge the gap, to help other young women get the opportunities that I've gotten, or show them that they can do it in the first place, and then to also help promote the organization and help promote the title holders within the organization.
Speaker 2:So anytime that I'm, you know I'm tired or you know life is throwing me left and right, I still have all these other responsibilities on my plate, whether it be for work or for the pageant. I remember what pushing through those tough times is going to get me in the end or is going to make me feel like once I get to the national pageant. Knowing that I've gone through so much and that I push through is giving up will help me feel much more. We talk about confidence. It will help me feel much more confident when I get to the national pageant knowing that, if I win this title, I've already been through so much preparing for the pageant. That means that if I'm going, if I go through things while I have the national title, if I win, then I can make it through. You know, you can make it pretty much through anything and you were able to push through and achieve your goals while you were facing challenges.
Speaker 1:I love it. So push through, never give up, push through, and I know that there are a lot of young ladies out there who desire to maybe compete in pageantry or even maybe on the path to want to be a reporter one day. What advice do you have for someone who is just starting out in journalism or considering entering the world of?
Speaker 2:pageantry, I would say for both, just to push past a level of comfortability. I'll talk on pageants first. My mom signed me up for my very first pageant in my senior year of high school. It was a fall semester and my coach was the state director of the system that she signed me up for, and I assume that my coach needed a couple more girls to sign up just to have more bodies on the stage. And my mom signed me up without telling me. It was literally like the week before and I had no idea what I was doing.
Speaker 2:I wore a prop, my prom dress uh, to compete, the dress was too big. I wore red lipstick. I and I know people don't know, but it's turn on Miss USA or Miss Universe and tell me if you see a girl on stage with red lipstick on, like nine times out of ten none of the girls are gonna have a nice pink or a nice. I don't know what I thought I was doing. You didn't know Exactly, you don't know what, you don't know Right, and so that was an uncomfortable experience for me, because I did the interview with the judges and I went on stage and all this stuff and I didn't win, but I didn't know why I didn't win. Obviously now I know why. But I didn't know why I didn't win. Obviously now I know why. But I didn't know why I didn't win. I didn't know what I did wrong and it made me uncomfortable. It made me upset.
Speaker 2:But pushing past that comfortability and saying, let me do this right the second time, getting the coach, let me do my research on this organization that I'm competing in, let me do my research on the pageant industry, watch a couple of YouTube videos. Doing all of that was it was also new to me and it made me uncomfortable in a way. But pushing past the comfort of uncomfortability allowed me to grow. And back on the journalism side of things. You also don't know what you don't know. It's definitely a trial by fire career and it'd be great to go to a school if a high schooler is listening. Go to a college that has a strong journalism program that will try to give you as much real world experience as you can get. I didn't come from a program that had that, so it was really trial by fire. All of the pitching stories and having people cancel on you day of and all of that was a huge weight of uncomfortability on me, but and again pushing through that got me to where I am today.
Speaker 1:I guess it showed my managers that I am able to do the job that I have now and you just got to get past the uncomfortable of it all, because life is uncomfortable and I like the fact that you said you have to do your research, because I think sometimes people can't like jump off, you know, like blindly, and never research to see, okay, if I'm going to do xyz, then I need you know abc. And so that's great that you say do your research so that you won't be as blind. I mean, you're not going to know everything all the time, but at least you will know something. At least.
Speaker 2:If you did a little research you'd be like okay, I cannot wear a red lipstick, you know Right, or maybe knowing that red was not the right color for me, getting a second opinion. It's like writing a paper without proofreading it or, you know, preparing for a test without studying and then wondering why you didn't pass the test. You just have to do those things in order to prepare yourself as much as you can, because some things, again, are trial by fire.
Speaker 1:That's true, that's true, and I love that. You said go to a school that, whatever your major is, that they actually have a good program for that particular major. Yeah, so chit-chatters, the parents, the students, if you guys are listening do your research, do your research Now. Is there a moment or a person who has inspired you the most on your journey to where you are now?
Speaker 2:I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say. Yeah, I know you're going to say your mom, yes, my mom. And the reason why is because she's the one one because, again, to whom much is given, much is expected. You know, growing up she's a part of so many different organizations and, you know, showed how important it is to give back to other people. Then also, she's been the one, nine times out of 10 who's been encouraging me to do these things, to step out of my comfort zone. She put me in my first pageant because she wanted me to get the opportunity to have public speaking skills and make new friends and get out of my comfort zone. And it's one of those things where I was mad at her at first, but now I am so happy. It's such a large part of my life now I'm so happy she signed me up for that very first pageant and that's just been.
Speaker 2:You know she's, it's always her, it's always me and my mom at any event or any pageant, and it really not only shows me what unconditional love looks like, but shows me the importance of nurturing and encouraging the people around you to do the things that, again, might be uncomfortable but are going to help them grow.
Speaker 1:Right, that mother-daughter relationship. Nothing like it right? So awesome. Now how can our listeners follow you?
Speaker 2:awesome. Now how can our listeners follow you? I am on facebook and instagram. On facebook you can find me at taylor martin pageants. That'll be all my pageant stuff and I try my best to be active on my work facebook page so you follow me on taylor martin wrdw and then on instagram. My personal instagram is taylormtv and my pageant page will be ideal, miss peach state okay, and that is where you can like.
Speaker 1:Maybe do donations for the um.
Speaker 2:Your like the bridge to gap and all of that stuff as well well, right now I'm actually because I turned 25 last week I am actually raising money for America's Ideal Miss National Platform Organization that they've chosen to partner with, which is Feeding America. I'm trying to raise $250. So, if anybody would like to donate there, just 25 people donate $10. That's it, that's it, girl.
Speaker 1:We'll put it in our Coffee Chit Chat Facebook group as well, so I'll put all the information there as well. I'll invite you in our Coffee Chit Chat Facebook group as well, so I'll put all the information there as well. I'll invite you over there, so we'll make sure that you get that $250. Thank you, so awesome, so awesome, taylor. We surely appreciate you being on Coffee Chit Chat. We have learned so much about the world of pageantry, and your journalism journey is such an awesome, inspiring story and I'm sure there are some listeners out there who have been inspired by your great work.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:We're going to have you back again as well after you win that title, right? Yes, We'll have you back. So, Chit Chatters, the quote of the week is for there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it. If only we are brave enough to be it, and that is by Amanda Gorman. Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Coffee Chitchat.
