As a child, Obell grew up reading all of her mother’s ESSENCE magazine subscriptions. By the time she was 15-years-old, she knew she wanted to become a journalist. Obell found herself studying the words of Angela Burt-Murray and Constance C.R. White – former editor-in-chiefs of the 42-year-old publication – and of one day writing for the magazine.

The young alumna is now a freelance editorial assistant for ESSENCE. In her new role she gets to pitch story ideas, contribute consistently to the monthly column –Ten Things We’re Talking About, and develop content for the magazine, website and social media accounts.

“I think a lot of people see me and think it’s just been easy,” she said.
But before landing her dream job, Obell worked for the student newspaper at North Carolina A&T, completed over three professional internships and graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

“When I was a senior at A&T, it was too big of a thought that I would go to the top school for journalism and then go work at ESSENCE magazine,” she said.

“I couldn’t visualize myself at that level,” she added.

Dr. Teresa Styles, professor and former chair of the department of journalism and mass communication at A&T, was one of those influencers who inspired Obell to go for it.

“If it wasn’t for Dr. Styles, I wouldn’t know how to make a proper footnote or write a 35-page paper,” she said. “I also would have never stretched (myself) or reached my potential. I would have never gone to Columbia. I would’ve never been in New York, which subsequently led to everything else. She really sparked a chain of events for me,” she said.

Along the way, Obell met journalist Michael Feeney, a fellow member of the National Association of Black Journalist. The two attended an event with several ESSENCE executives, and it was on that night that Feeney urged her to go introduce herself to the magazine’s news editor, Wendy Wilson. That conversation between Obell and Wilson led to a meeting at the magazine’s headquarters in New York City’s Time-Life Building and a new position as Wilson’s intern.

“Wendy really brought me on and she kept me under her wing ever since. I ended up being her intern while I was there,” Obell said. “She gave me my chance, she gave me my first byline in my dream magazine and I will always be appreciative of that.”

Since then, her most memorable moment at ESSENCE was when she finally saw her first full one-page article titled, “Getting into the Ivy League” published in the November 2013 issue. The story was a concept she created while in graduate school and saved specially for ESSENCE. 

“ESSENCE has been my dream. I’m where I want to be. My goal is to stay here and to grow here and I really hope that they see that in me. I would love to be at ESSENCE as an editor and on the masthead just continuing to do what I love,” she said.

Courtney J. Jackson