We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kamaya Walker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kamaya below.
Kamaya, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from making my younger self happy. I have been in situations where I have felt like back-pedaling in my journey for the sake of ease or stability. However, I know that 7-year old Kamaya wouldn’t be as happy with me anymore. She deserves her joy as much as I do. As long as she is satisfied, I’ll continue to thrive.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Presently, I work as a Freelance Production Assistant. While it is a stressful and somewhat unstable lifestyle, it adds a sense of spontaneity to my life. When things go right and I find myself progressing in my career, I find that it has a much bigger payout and fills me with much more gratification. For example, when got staffed on my first union project, I felt more confident telling people what I did for a living. They would get so happy for me and be so proud. I guess that would be the most exciting part: the social validation. I also love the social aspect within the job. You meet so many different faces and people from all walks of life while on set. It’s truly eye-opening opening!
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?
The three most important qualities that helped me become freelance was my resilience, my positivity and my big-ole mouth. I’ve always had a bubbly spirit, which naturally makes me outgoing. When I used to work for Freeform, I talked to absolutely everybody. I knew that I no longer wanted to be in an office setting, and I made that very clear. I worked as diligently as I could so people would understand that I was willing to work hard if it meant that someone else would give me a job. With that being said, I spoke to the Jamila Hunter, who is the Executive Vice President of Programming and Development at Freeform. I talked this woman’s ear off. I told her about my dream to be a director and made it very clear that I wished to be out of the office expeditiously. She had heard about my work-ethic and connected me with two producers of major Freeform shows. The second producer is the one that got me staffed on my first union project!
The biggest piece of advice I would say to other people in their journey is to network. Talk to absolutely everybody and then talk their ears off. If you have a reasonable amount of persistence, they will take heed to your passion and help you act on it.
Next, don’t be an asshole. Many a time, I have been elevated to situations simply because I am nice. Since moving around the country, I have learned that southern hospitality is really only exclusive to the South. Therefore, people take my simple acts of courtesy as kindness and float towards me more.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I feel overwhelmed, I rant and then play the Sims 4. I have to make sure that my thoughts come out of my brain and into a void of some sort, whether that be to my friends or to my family. Once my brain load is lessened, I play the Sims in order to feel a sense of control. My career path takes all control out of my hands. Even once I start directing on a larger scale, there are still major parts that I will not be able to control in my projects. When I play the Sims, though, I feel the power come back to me. To expand on this, I just put myself in situations that I can control. I play specific songs to listen to, because I know that I am in control of what I hear. I buy comfort foods because I am putting myself in control of what I eat. When I am overwhelmed, I can’t afford to do anything mindlessly. I have to center myself in these obscure ways to remind myself that I am in control.
Contact Info:
- Website: kamayawalker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamsayshi/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamayawalker88/
- Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13458495/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Mark Doering-Powell, Aaron Goffman
