Meet Nicole Castaneda

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Castaneda. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Nicole, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

It was a long journey of learning about myself and exploring all the different options life offered. I’ve always been a dreamer, and for that I’ve had multiple passions. That confused me a lot of times because it was hard to understand who was and I felt I had to choose one thing out of the many I enjoyed.
I had a passion for fashion since I can remember and I started shaping myself for that, I studied some courses in Parsons New York and in Istituto Marangoni in Milan.
I was also a person that liked to help other and so I studied Psychology as my major in Bogota, Colombia, but I was also very passionate about storytelling. My mother says that when I was little she would always find me in my room with a brush in my hand, in front of the mirror talking as if I was a reporter.
This is why I majored in psychology and have a minor in journalism and in design.
I also have two masters: one in clinical psychology and the other in the science of mass communication.
All of this background story to say that I found my purpose when I found out I didn’t have to choose ONE career or be ONE person my whole life. I understood life is flexible and I can evolve and change my likes as I grow up. I worked as a licensed psychologist for almost 6 years and now I am a news producer. I am positive I want to keep exploring my path as a journalist for a long time, but it’s ok if that changes. I can evolve into a new person with new passions. That makes me unique and keeps me going.
I learned that everything I learn and study will come in handy, it’s never a waste of time. Nowadays my experience as a psychologist helped me make very good questions when I am doing an interview, I can interpret what people say and go beyond the headline to analyze what’s deeper. I can empathize with others and create unique stories of human interest. My purpose will keep changing as I move along, but that is what keeps my spark shining bright everyday.

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?

I am a news producer at EWTN News which is the largest catholic network in the world.
I have been in the news for time now. I started my career in Colombia working in radio and then moved to Miami to study journalism. I worked for my school’s newscast as an anchor and shortly I got transferred to D.C. to work as their political reporter. I had always wanted to work in the fashion world, so I was very scared to come to the Nation’s capital and talk about issues I had never spoken about and had little knowledge.
When I got to D.C. I was in the middle of the drop of Roe. Wade and mid term elections. I had to study really hard to understand the issues and by the reporter I wanted to be. I found out I was very passionate about politics and history and started getting involved in more and more stuff. I had the honor to work as a political reporter for two years and specialized on the Hispanic vote and their issues, as I am a hispanic myself. I also got the chance to work in one the biggest hispanic media outlets, interviewing lawmakers at the capitol.
Now, I am working behind-the-scenes and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge on how a news show gets build and how you work on the other side, as I’ve always been on cam. Everyday I get to write scripts, pick video, produce the nightly show and search for stories that have an impact. It is amazing as I have the opportunity to write national and international news, and recently covered U.S. elections, which was one of my biggest achievements so far.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I can think of many skills I’ve used in my journey but the biggest one that pops into mind is Resilience.
There are many skills you’ll need on the way, that you might learn in school or college. But I think this one is more on the emotional side and I feel we are not taught how to deal with emotions.
I’ve had to build resilience by force and I can’t say it has been easy or fun. I’ve been put to the test so many times, and in many moments I’ve thought “I’m not going to make”, but it’s that last bit of hope, of strength that gets you going and pushes to just keep swimming (like Dory said) no matter the circumstance. I’ve gotten so many “no’s” and in my my journey living abroad I’ve felt discrimination right in my face. But, I’ve gotten up because resilience has helped me to keep going.
I would also add to this faith, not sure if it’s a skill but it is definitely a virtue that has led to believe that even in the darkest times, there is hope and something good will happen.
We all go through tough moments, but it’s that strength deep within you that helps you keep moving forward.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Being an immigrant.
Since I got to this country I’ve fallen in love with every part of it. I understand the love Americans feel for so much love for it, but understanding how I can fit in here has been one of my toughest tests. I’ve had to prove to myself and others that I deserve to be here, I’ve built an amazing career and have an amazing job as a news producer, but getting here has been a fight to show “hey, I can do it”.
At first I was scared they would notice I had an accent and would reject me, which never really happened, but I know that many times I’ve been rejected in jobs just because they were scared I would request a sponsorship. I’ve felt many times they haven’t seen my value because saying I come from another country becomes a barrier in which over and over I’ve had to proof I can work as well as any American.
The biggest obstacle then became fear. Fear of not being enough and doubting myself all the time. The way to overcome it, has to literally tell myself everyday as a mantra “you’ve got this, you can do it”. But most of all compassion has helped me a lot; being compassionate to myself. Understanding making mistakes is ok and it’s part of my learning process and making sure I am the first to take care of myself. Learning how to have a more compassionate script in my head and being open to new opportunities has been a way to overcome it. I’m still fighting with it all, but here I am, working in news as I always dreamed of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nicolecastanedajournalist.com
• Instagram: nicolecastanedaj
• Youtube: nicolecastaneda3473