Today we’d like to introduce you to Keyarah Watson.
Hi Keyarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Wilmington, Delaware’s inner city, raised by an amazing single mother. Though I faced struggles and challenges, what changed everything for me was my mother’s belief in me. She used books and television to expose me to new worlds and possibilities that did not exist in my immediate environment. Media became a way for me to imagine something bigger than my circumstances.
At 20, I became the first in my family to graduate college, earning a degree from the University of Delaware. I majored in Accounting and started a career in consulting at KPMG. While there, I was exposed to many careers in media. Coming from a blue collar family, I never imagined that my love for media could translate into a career.
With my renewed passion, I made the pivot to ABC News, where I earned an Emmy Award for my documentary “When Steel Was Made in Maryland,” which highlighted the racism and sexism faced by workers at Bethlehem Steel. Professionally, I now work in communications and marketing for the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, where I focus on telling human stories that help connect residents to resources and opportunity.
Education has remained a theme of my life. I recently completed my MBA in Marketing at the University of Baltimore, graduating last month with a 3.97 GPA. For several years, I have maintained the Watson Black Empowerment Scholarship, which is a scholarship that I award each semester to a Black student matriculating at the University of Delaware.
Outside of my day to day work, I serve on the Board of Directors for Wide Angle Youth Media and am active in my church community at Union Church. These spaces matter to me because they keep me close to people, anchored in Christ, and remind me of my greater purpose.
My life has gone from being a first generation college student to becoming the first in my family to win an Emmy Award. My story has also shaped how I see storytelling today. I see media as access to opportunity, an unfettered window to peek beyond your current perch in life, and permission to dream. I am living mine each day.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey has definitely not been a smooth road. There were times where I felt lost about my purpose and even worse, ill-prepared for it. Before any awards or recognition in media, I was a new graduate working in accounting. Within months, I knew that I was not meant to work my entire life in professional services. It was a very challenging time and one that many new college graduates still face today.
Once I deduced that working in media was my purpose, I quickly went from feeling empowered to trapped. I was working in a “dream job” that was not my dream, I only had formal education in accounting, and I knew no one that worked in media. Through divine encounters, I connected with a fellow University of Delaware alum working at ABC News. She recommended me for a job, and I was accepted with no experience and moved to Baltimore within two weeks. I took a 40% pay cut, moved to a city where I knew no one, and left the “dream job” I thought I wanted in pursuit of a new dream.
It all turned out better than I could have imagined! My accounting and tech education have made me a uniquely analytical and effective communications leader. The very background that I thought disqualified me turned into my competitive edge. And my pivot helped me learn to depend on God’s timing and providence. Seven years later, I can honestly say that I would not change anything about my journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Professionally, I now work in communications and marketing for the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, where I focus on telling human stories that help connect residents to resources and opportunity. Since joining the agency, I’ve grown our social media following from 66 followers on Instagram to nearly 50,000. We are second only to Mayor Scott in city government following.
The difference I’ve brought to our agency is beyond data and analytics, it’s human. We make space for residents to tell their unique stories and connect with other Baltimoreans in their own words.
One of the projects I’m most proud of is landing the cover of the Baltimore Sun. I pitched an article on Carlose Dubose, a former “squeegee boy.” He was able to share that he squeegeed to get money to pay his mother’s rent, and when she passed away, it was squeegeeing that paid for her funeral. Carlose took part in a Mayor’s Office of Employment Development program that helped him become employed.
My professional superpower is using media to connect humanity and opportunity in a way that makes people feel, respond, and take action.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me are three things: God, family, and enjoyment.
My relationship with God is the foundation of my life. It guides how I treat others, how I make decisions, and how I understand my purpose. Christ is my North Star and the source of my strength.
My family also matters deeply to me, especially their growth and elevation. I carry a strong sense of responsibility for contributing to their progress.
The third is enjoyment, which I believe is often underestimated. I believe in making space for joy, whether that is taking a vacation, enjoying small luxuries, or going for an after work walk along the water. Life is both meaningful and fleeting, and I think joy is not something extra, it is something necessary.
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