One day you will see junior Raya Clay on the sidelines of a NBA game working for either ESPN or Fox Sports, but until then she is busy being a superstar on campus. Raya has a passion for sports and journalism and can sit down with anyone to argue that Lebron James is the best basketball player of all time. Besides her love for sports, she loves to cook and to entertain her friends. She has a vision and she intends on accomplishing all her set goals plus more.
“I played basketball in middle school and was on the dance team in high school so I was always around basketball and I understand the game,” Raya said. “I am working towards this dream by my involvement on campus and the hopes of receiving an internship this summer with ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.”
Raya is open to any internship opportunity that will further her involvement with broadcast journalism.
Not only does Raya love sports and journalism, she is determined to help out the community specifically her hometown Monticello, AR.
When she was in high school, she was in a class called EAST Lab where she learned to use technology to better help the community.
“I did a few projects while being in EAST Lab and I am very proud of them,” Raya said. “One of my favorites was creating a bus safety video, which was a combination of interviews from the bus driver, the district’s superintendent and students.”
After she completed the video, it was shown to every classroom in the Monticello School District.
She thanks the University of Arkansas for helping her get her foot in the door in the world of broadcast journalism. She started getting involved with student media when she applied for a position at the Arkansas Traveler to be a sports writer.
“After that everything started falling into place– I met Professor Ricky Thein and he encouraged me to become a host and sports analyst for Countdown to Kickoff,” Raya said. “On the set of Countdown to Kickoff I met Jeff Martin who is the producer of Campus Crossfire and now I am a correspondent for the show.”
She covers various sporting events for the Traveler, which allowed her to meet sports director for KNWA, Jason Carroll. Now she is an intern for KNWA/ Razorback Nation. The combination of great luck and hard work has made Raya’s voice be heard around campus and locally. There is nothing stopping her and she wants to encourage fellow broadcast majors to do the same.
“I do not think anyone should limit themselves specifically broadcast majors,” Raya said. “This field is very competitive and is sometimes discouraging, but the best thing is to shoot for the stars and don’t give up.”