Endika McCauley
By Melinda Renteria
As the double doors to Annenberg Hall opened, a gust of warm wind was a distinct contrast to the 60 degree air-conditioned room inside.
Endika McCauley, a rising senior at Centennial High School, located in Compton, California, said it best when she said in an interview that she was a “bubbly” person.
She sported a smile that stretched ear to ear and was impossible to go unnoticed. McCauley, 17, is participating in the third annual USC Annenberg Youth Academy (AYA).
“I’m interested in journalism and communication. That’s my biggest dream in terms of majors,” she said, confessing that she once wanted to be a famous singer. “Times are tough,” she added with a chuckle. So she decided to pursue the entertainment field, just in a different manner.
McCauley hopes to do something in broadcast entertainment, or sports. “I grew up with my brothers, so basketball, football, all of that… I want to work with singers and rappers,” she explained. “Journalism and communication ties into so many things, it’s not one strict thing.”
McCauley hopes to do something in broadcast entertainment, or sports. “I grew up with my brothers, so basketball, football, all of that… I want to work with singers and rappers,” she explained. “Journalism and communication ties into so many things, it’s not one strict thing.”
Singer Rihanna is a role model for McCauley. She sees herself in the singer in regards to not being trapped into only one thing. Rihanna went from being a singer to an entrepreneur, not allowing herself to be restricted to only one career. Looking back, maybe it wasn’t the wind that warmed up the atmosphere because McCauley’s warm heart and big smile are capable of warming up any environment she enters.
“You don’t have to be a product of your environment, but it helps build you to who you are,”McCauley said.
