Jasmine A. McDonald

I would say always being a student of life, learning new things, and always staying curious. That's led me to some really fun stories and great adventures, and also just put me in rooms I never thought I'd ever be in. Being brave, even when you're scared, is really important to me. I have to be a little bit delusional. I have this thing about me where I truly do think I can do everything, within reason, but I go into new experiences like I'm gonna crush it, or I'm gonna see the other side of this, even if I feel insecure or inadequate or I have imposter syndrome. What's the worst that could happen in this situation? Do I really want to look back and say, oh, I could have just done it, I might have failed, but I could have just still done it. Try, fail, try, succeed. I've taken all of my experience and put it in a zip file, because it feels like everything I've learned has come together in my current role. It's not as physical as my other producing jobs where I don't need to physically go out to the shoots or put a crew together, but there are so many other ways to get things done. My success comes from hard work, being able to grow, and never feeling stagnant. I think it's very important to know what you don't like, because you don't want to ever be stuck in a place or around people where you start to lose yourself in it and fall too deep where no one can throw a rope to you or you can't even pull yourself out of it. Authenticity is really up there, staying true to yourself.

One of the best pieces of career advice I ever received was don't miss out on life while you're chasing your dreams. I'm very big on trying to be more balanced, and yes, I am very career-oriented and I love what I do, but I still want to stop and smell the flowers and also stop and look around where I live and who I get to meet. Another one would be don't hold on to your dreams so tightly, because you never know what else might meet you at the right time. Just be open to opportunities that present themselves, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but you never know what new passions may meet you. I thought I was supposed to be filming TV for the rest of my life, and I thought I was gonna work in LA, but I'm so happy with where I've ended up and all the things I've gotten to do and places to see.

I would say do it scared. Even if you feel like you aren't good enough, still apply to that job. I would also say just reach out to the people you admire, whether it be through social media or you go to a talk or someone at school, anyone in your life that even resembles bravery or a courageous nature in them. Just talk to them. Also, you are who you hang out with. If you are wanting to be more brave and you want to be more courageous, start finding those people in your life that resemble that and then keep them close, because I do believe you learn so much from the circle you keep.

I would say it's getting better, but it could be a lot better. I think that there are women in these leadership roles and who are exceptional, but I feel like it's not a good concentrated amount. I feel like it's still just peppered in instead of being the default. I especially feel this way for Black women. I don't see enough Black women in these tech spaces or these leadership tech-space roles. And I do think that the people who are running these companies or the people who are running these initiatives definitely need to open up who they hire, just for one, for visibility, but also two, you're missing out on so much good talent. Representation is so important because a lot of things come from a different voice, from a different perspective, especially in media.

Obviously, hard work is very important to me. I would also say being able to grow. I think growth is super important because I don't like feeling stagnant, and I think that while I know what I like, I think it's very important to know what you don't like. You don't want to ever be stuck in a place or around people, and this is sort of a personal value too, where you start to lose yourself in it and you don't want to fall too deep where no one can throw a rope to you or you can't even pull yourself out of it. Authenticity is really up there, staying true to yourself. I grew up heavily working in community. My mom was a social worker growing up, and we did a lot of turkey giveaways during Thanksgiving. In high school, I helped create this toy giveaway through her nonprofit where seniors of the school would bring toys and then we would coordinate a toy giveaway for the kids at her nonprofit. As of recently, I do play roller derby, and so we are also a non-profit and we do a lot of community events and work. We worked with Habitat for Humanity, we've also done skate programs, we host games and then donate some of the profits to local LGBTQIA nonprofits. I've also done food pantry volunteer days here locally in New Orleans. There's always something to do in community when you're in New Orleans.