We recently connected with Adrienne Bauldock and have shared our conversation below.
Adrienne, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I am still discovering my purpose, I feel as though your purpose can change or manifest over time. Through hard work, dedication, lots of rejection, and even pain. My purpose stems from being a child of God, and ultimately a humble servant to his will. If I could define my purpose, it would be to steward the community voice, and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. In addition to being a storyteller, my main passion is to help people love themselves and maintain stability for their own lives. Many people have shared how I am very helpful with doing that, in reference to my eloquence, generosity, and love. I have helped many people discover themselves in the midst of defining who I am, and I am so grateful for that blessing.
I started off in elementary school connecting with with older kids/people frequently. (Literally in kindergarten) I can recall the many times my guardians would ask me “Adrienne, how do you know so many people?”. I wouldn’t know what to say besides “Those are my friends!”. And as I look back on it, it was second nature to be a social butterfly. People always had a profound trust in me, and my capabilities. They saw greatness in me, and provided me with the platform to work those blessings. This carried me all throughout high school, college, and now in my “adulthood”.
I have fallen in love with hard work, and I don’t plan on looking back. Regardless of how many times I may fall or make mistakes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Adrienne Bauldock is a dedicated Media/Communications Consultant. I graduated from Montclair State with a Bachelors degree in Television and Digital Media. While I was a full-time student, I worked two jobs, and managed 4 different organizations on campus simultaneously for 4 years. In 2016 I interned briefly with We Are Jersey Entertainment as a Content Editor. And in 2018 I launched an Instagram talk show called “Wassup Wednesday”. This talk show covered magazine topics surrounding love/relationships, careers/professions, and everything in between. Once I graduated college, I spent two years chasing stability to pay off my student loans. In the midst of those two years, I worked for Merrill Lynch and continued my talk show to connect with my NJ community & peers on social media.
In October of 2021, I stepped out on faith and quit my job to pursue my passion career in media. By November of 2021 I landed a job working with the South Jersey Information Equity Project, as the Project Coordinator. And I have been working the grant paid position ever since. When I started working for SJIEP in 2021, I was given the task of managing 5 South Jersey Journalists who would write positive stories about the black and brown communities in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. Today in 2024, I manage 14 journalists in total, who cover 6 counties, which are Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, and Cumberland. All in working with the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State.
In addition to my “9-5” work, I am a freelanced Executive Media Consultant for We Are Jersey Magazine & Ent.. Working with WAJ, I facilitate events, interviews, and outreach for the company and the magazine. We host all types of events whether it is for networking, local talent and showcases, community resources/politics, and so much more! Our mission is to connect the community directly to the industry, and to meet the community where they need to be supported the most.
This is where I am today in 2024, and I cannot wait to see where God leads us next!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
3 Main qualities that were most impactful for me are: Hard work/Dedication
Resilience/Tenacity
Authenticity/Transparency
Some advice I would give to those who are looking to enter their career, wherever they are is:
– Do the research & practice!
– No plan survives contact with reality!
– Create yourself before the world does!
– Stay true to who God is calling you to be!
There is no way I would have made it here without taking full control over my life and the outcomes I stimulated for myself. You must figure out what you want to do first. Even if it is something small, like a skill you want to acquire or something that interests you. After you figure out what you are interested in, then you must create a plan. Finally, once that plan is mapped out meticulously; you get started and never ever stop working on that plan.
It could be for 5 minutes a day, that you work towards that plan. IT STILL COUNTS. You can make adjustments, you can change it all around and even start from scratch. Either way, you have to have AT LEAST one plan you are committed to following through with. You got it!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My mentors are AMAZING! I definitely would advise every person living to have/find a mentor. I have met so many awesome individuals in my life, and they all love and support me beyond measure. They are essential to the woman I am becoming in my professional life, and even in my personal life. They help me make tough decisions, they protect and provide safe spaces solely for me, and they teach me all that they know without any expectations attached.
I will never forget those who have checked in on me throughout this journey. A lot of those people are mentors and life long partnerships to me. Beyond work settings, they present spaces for me to vent and they always show up for me! They know how independent I am, and they see gifts in me that I haven’t even discovered yet. When I tell you they are some of the most heaven sent people I know, it truly is an honor to have a network of amazing people I view as professional family.
The earliest memory I can recall, stems all the way back to high school. I had my first two mentors in high school; one of them is Mr. Johnston who was my shop teacher for Entertainment Tech. (My trade class at my tech high school BCIT Wes Tech). And the other was my English teacher and Cheer Coach Ms. Quick. They both were the class officers for the class of 2015. And in my sophomore year, Ms. Quick came to me and said, “You are going to be the Class President.”
I immediately shot her a quick glance in shock, and asked “HUUUH what do you mean?!”. She told me, “you do not have to do anything outside of what you are already doing, going above and beyond for your peers. You are going to be great!” I quickly accepted and asked, “So When do I start? What do I do next?” And she said, “just keep being you.” That is where my leaderships skills quickly started to show itself. Before you know it, I was organizing the 2015 events, my peers, and faculty to create the high school experience we dreamt of. I had a great high school experience, and it was because of my mentors who believed in me, that I received that opportunity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blinq.me/ba0H9G8mKVAA?bs=db
- Instagram: @adrianna_lea
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-bauldock-aa7870107
- Youtube: We Are Jersey Magazine
- Other: https://sjiep.org/
https://www.wearejerseyent.com/
https://centerforcooperativemedia.org/about/
https://www.blackinjersey.com/
