Meet Afua S. Owusu
Afua S. Owusu (uh-fee-yah) (oh-woo-sue) has been in love with broadcasting her whole life. She’s the second child of Ghanaian immigrants, born and raised in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Her career in broadcasting began at age 15 when she joined the cast and crew of a local access television show sponsored by Comcast called “Teen Talk”. Her natural presence on-air and creative producing style prompted her to major in broadcast journalism Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. During her 22 year career, Afua has worked in both radio and television with iHeart Radio as on-air talent and promotions manager, WLS-TV ABC7 Eyewitness News Chicago as a writer-producer and WGN Morning News as the supervising producer. She is currently the executive producer for The JAM TV show, a new live morning show in Chicago that features hilarious and real conversations about the day's trending and entertainment stories.
Q + A
A little known fact about yourself?
I am an artist. I inherited the ability to draw and paint from my mother. It was something we all knew I could do but I did not start taking classes to learn proper techniques and the various mediums until I was in high school. My art teacher once told me that I had a "critical eye", I can spot the flaw in any piece of work - but I don't know how to correct it. I knew if I ventured into a career based in art, I would end up a teaching others to do what I couldn't. I knew that I was good at art, but I wasn't great. I refused to settle. I wanted to be great at whatever my career was. I don't draw much these days, it used to be something I did to relax but like any skill when you don't sharpen it you lose some abilities. Now, when I put pencil to pad all I see are the flaws. I don't like that feeling, so I stopped drawing.
What does the world need more of?
Empathy and patience. So much of the chaos of this world is born out of impatience. If we had more empathy for others, especially those who don't look like ourselves, I truly believe the world would be a better person.
Favorite word?
My favorite word is shit. Can I say shit? It can be used to sums up a situation perfectly, one word. If I can't say the "s" word, my second favorite word is "no". I'm learning how to use it more. There's so much power in this two letter word. I'm leaning how to not feel bad when using it. I'm leaning how to be a little selfish and not force myself to do anything I do not want to do. It's a life altering enlightenment.
What do you suck at?
Singing. I wish I could sing so much. I love music so much. However, there's a reason God did not give me this gift. If I could sing, LOL, I wouldn't stop. I would never talk, but always sing. Everyone would hate me.
Tell us about your creative process
My creative process is a little cray-cray, I know it drives my team crazy. I'm a very visual person. I take inspiration from everywhere and everything. I'm always looking at how I can take something and elevate it, not to the next level, but three or four levels above. I come up with a lot of ideas while sleeping or when I zone out of a conversation. I keep an email to myself in my drafts folder and when I come up with an idea at o'dark thirty or in the middle of a meeting (that I haven't been paying attention in), I will wake up and grab my phone - furiously typing up the idea so that I can expand on it later. I have a freakishly good memory, so I'm not writing it down so that I don't forget. I'm writing it down to prioritize when I get to it. My memory has always been an asset to my creative process because I can recall whatever it was that inspired me & explain in great detail to others what I want to do. Now, if I'm stressed out or exhausted it doesn't work as well, minor details tend to go missing. I have to then remove myself from the chaos, meditate and relax my anxiety before I can process and select which detail I need. I can recall the most trivial conversations, ideas, facts - you name it, by thinking about how I felt in the moment. It's almost like there's a photo album in my mind and I'm just flipping through the pages until I find the memory I need.
Favorite Quote:
"You die in love more than you live in love." - Tarryn Fisher
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