Elsa Bolt

I would attribute my success to a lot of hard work, a lot of passion, a lot of love for what I do, and then also the people along the way, including my wonderful family. The expression 'it takes a village' is so true. I was surrounded by people who helped mold me. I'm so thankful to all the teachers and mentors I had, I'm thankful to my bosses, I'm thankful to anyone who has been a great influence in my life journey, including my mom, dad, and siblings. My mom was my best friend and we were very close. She always instilled in her children the value of education, the value of working hard for what you want to achieve, the value of having a strong work ethic to reach your goals. She passed away 9 years ago, but I really owe a lot to my mom, and I carry her spirit with me in the way that I conduct myself professionally, but also in my personal life as well. My dad has also been my role model and inspires me every day. I truly believe that everything I have done has led me to where I am now. All those sleepless hours, all those countless hours of work, all those wild schedules, have all led me to where I am. Everything has led me to my husband, led me to being a mom, led me to being an executive news producer. I'm just very grateful and thankful to anyone in my life who has had some sort of impact on me, including people I meet in general. Sometimes you meet people and you hear their stories, and that is something that becomes impactful for you.

The career advice I have received is also the career advice that I give, and that is to never stop learning, to always be willing to grow and learn. I feel like I'm still learning today. I think when you explore life or explore your career in that way and want to learn everything and anything about your field, about your craft, that's so valuable. I do believe in a lot of hard work. However, I know what's also important is balance. I know that our physical and mental health, all of that is also important, so it's finding that balance. But I think if you give your all in anything that you do, even if you don't always get an award or a reward, if you do your absolute best, that's all you really need. That's all the satisfaction you need. That self-confidence, those self-affirmations too, you will feel good about your work and yourself. There are days that I leave the station exhausted. Times when we’re covering big breaking news content for hours, but I know that when I leave work, I have given it my all, and that is rewarding and fulfilling in and of itself. Whatever goals you have, don't be afraid to go after them, and put in the work. You're going to know you worked really hard, and that's fulfilling.

I would tell young women entering this industry to fully commit to their work and pursue their goals with confidence. Give your job your all, stay focused, and don’t be afraid to aim high. Your ambition and dedication are your greatest assets, and they will open doors to opportunities you might not yet imagine.

It’s great that we are in an age of citizen journalism and digital media. However, society as a whole needs to be diligent when it comes to misinformation or disinformation on social media, including doctored videos. It is very important for journalists to continue to check sources, fact check, and verify any content that comes our way. It is our job as journalists to be credible, reliable, and accurate.

Number one, I think, is being kind. I'm very big about conducting myself in a kind, compassionate way. You come across people every single day, you come across different faces, and some faces you don't even see. Maybe you're driving in traffic or you're at the grocery store and there's someone in front of you, and I think kindness, even a smile, goes a long way. You never know the day that somebody else may be having. Either way it goes, maybe someone had a wonderful day, maybe they had a not-so-great day, but you were kind to them, and that amplified or changed their day around. My outlook on life is, ultimately, am I being kind to others and myself? And I think that I like to bring kindness to whatever I do. It’s really about hearing people’s stories and treating them with compassion. I'm always trying to look for the goodness in the world, the good in people, and I always try to conduct myself in that way, whether it's professionally or personally.