10 Questions with ... Alexandria Washington

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

AKA Ally Lynn/Ally "The Pub"

Funny thing, radio was not my true first choice. My favorite movie is Brown Sugar and I wanted to badly to be Sid, the music editor of Source magazine, listen to all the music first, go to all the parties, and be well respected. Therefore, I majored in Public Relations and Communications and couldn't find a job in my field after I graduated -- much like 99.9% of millennials. My best friends Jaid Taylor and Mia Banks were working in radio back home in Arkansas. When I moved back after graduation and they literally put me on to the game, and shortly after Jamal Quarles, Mr. James and "No Name" let me on the air to do afternoons and a weekend show.

1) Why was radio your career choice?

I love connecting with people. Naturally I'm a communicator and always have been. I never really realized how much theatre of the mind came into play until I started getting comfortable on air and finding my voice. But personally, I never wanted it to be "pretend," I wanted as real as real could get it. My goal in every market was to be that family member that everyone had: their favorite cousin, their little sister, their niece, their daughter, their granddaughter. I wanted to connect with people like that. And it worked out for me. Funny enough, I've gotten invites to family cookouts, graduations, birthday dinners, church events, spelling bees, honor roll assemblies, dance competitions, prison releases, even dates! All of which I've attended, and people never forget it either because how you made them feel on radio is how you made them feel in real life.

2) What do you like about being on the air?

Tuscaloosa is home for me. Literally both of my parents and their family grew up about 30 miles outside of the city. My aunts, uncles and cousins have businesses and jobs in the city - and I mean I did graduate from the best university in the world right smack dab in the middle of Tuscaloosa, so it just holds a special place in my heart. I mean I work in the building with the radio station that my parents and grandparents grew up listening to and they get to hear me. It doesn't get more dope than that. But I'm excited to hit the ground running by getting back involved on the campus that gave me so much, volunteering at the local schools that my cousins attend, and getting integrated into the new culture of T-Town.

3) How did your parents feel about radio as a career choice?

To be honest, when I first got into it, I was unemployed and not getting paid. I wasn't happy working at my job in Dillard's at the mall. Gave it ten months, and I walked out. Went to the radio station to talk to my friends about it and they immediately put me to work. I was up in the morning at 3am going to volunteer at the news station to see how that worked, left at 10 when the morning show was over and then would go home, shower and change -- go to the radio station from 1p until 11p grinding it out for free. Looking back, of course I was younger, so I had so much more energy, but moreover I tapped into my hustle and believed in myself that much that's why I was working 20/24 hours every day. That's another reason why I'm so sure of my purpose and my talent because I spent way too long working on it when no one was checking for me. So, all in all my parents weren't okay with me not getting paid for it but they knew I was talented in it. My mom always has my back from jump. My dad is a military guy, so he has to see the fruits from it. It got real to him when the competition heritage station was recruiting me to come on for weekends. But he wasn't a full fledge believer until I got my first full time radio gig in Charlotte. He saw the money I was making and places I was going and was like "Yea, my baby girl some found a career and is out my house and pockets!"

4) What's your advice for those wanting to go into radio?

To all the future broadcasters, use your platform for good. It's so easy to get caught up in the industry, the perks, the notoriety - but stand up and stand out. Get out in the community, find a cause, create a cause and build around it. People will remember you more for how you made them feel. Keep your listeners in the know and educate yourself because whatever you say is golden to them --because they trust you. And always leave your listeners with some encouraging words. You are in control of how people navigate their day from dropping their kids off, to being at work from 9-5, in traffic on their way home or in the car at night moving about the city. Your energy and the words you give could be the biggest difference in someone's day, moreover, their entire life. Be intentional and trust the God in you. He's did it for me and He can do it for you too! Tap into your crazy faith and go crazy lil baby.

5) Where did you get the nickname Ally "The Pub?"

I graduated with my bachelor's degree in public relations so my Instagram name at the time was @AllyThePublicist. My best friend, Jaid Taylor, and I used to argue all the time because he said my name was too long and I'm like I like it, so it didn't matter. Well back when all that was happening, Instagram didn't have the capability of you just changing your name to a million different handles. So, if you changed it, it was a commitment to it because you couldn't change it back. He's my best friend, so naturally, he knows my passwords and stuff - I went to the bathroom, by the time I came back he and Mia were cracking up because he had changed my name to @AllyThePub - I was furious! But after a few days of hearing it, I figured it was cool. But then, it got bigger than me because everybody was now calling me Pub - even my parents. So, it's kind of just stuck, even with the recent rebrand to Ally Lynn - my listeners slip up and still say Pub but my friends - oh it will always be Pub.

6) How important is Instagram and social media for you?

Social media is everything to me and my brand. Especially Instagram, because I literally watched myself build a brand from scratch. I grew up in a small town, Jacksonville, right outside of Little Rock. So, when I moved back, I was popular on the north side of the bridge. But when you cross the bridge into the city, I only knew a handful of people. But after hearing me on air, pushing to my social media - my listeners are still surprised when I tell them where I'm from because they just "know" that I was from Little Rock, but social media does that right. It creates a person, a brand, an idea and people just roll with it. I think that the influence spread so quickly for me too because how real I keep it on the gram. I mean I share a lot of my personal life and it creates that sense of familiarity, where people feel every inch of my journey with me - and that's why I love it.

7) Who are some of the people who've helped with your career?

Funny enough, I have to thank AllAccess.com first and foremost. Funny story that I've shared with only a few people - In 2013, I was following this personality by the name of @YaGirlNikki who years later happened to be my competition at WPEG during my stint in Charlotte. I hit her and asked like how to find radio jobs and how to get started and she shared the website with me and explained how it worked. From that day on, it was a part of my daily routine. And while I was teacher in November of 2015, I saw a posting from TMZ. I applied and forgot about it. Got a random call while dismissing my classroom in May and asked to me fly out for an interview. Of course, I do, and killed it! So, I have to thank Kevin and Harvey for literally giving my first full time job ever in the industry and believing in my skill enough to put me on the TV. From there, thanks to Nu York who values me enough to make room for me at Jamz when I moved back to Alabama when my grandma was ill and had no job. And big thanks to two people that really shaped my radio career and I call them my radio parents: Mary K and Jerome Ford. Mary K gave me my first full time gig in Charlotte out of 600+ qualified candidates. As I look back now, my aircheck was trash. She and Jerome saw something in me that was pure potential and groomed me up to feel like I could take over the world. I was only under their leadership in that building for seven months, but it was a crash course in life and the game of radio. Just like parents, I never made decisions without them - even when transitioning to Detroit - they encouraged me on the way there, while I was there, and even after getting let go. I know that if I ever needed anything they'd be there and have yet to let me down. I seriously owe my radio career to those two.

8) How do you see your future?

I'm walking in my future now and it's looking really dope. This season that God has me in is so awesome because it's a place where I can only depend on Him. When I got fired with the acquisition of the company happening in Detroit, I felt like my world was turned upside down. I didn't know how to feel, where I was going and what was next. I had to pray and really get in a quiet space to hear from God. Everything I'm doing now is what I spoke over my life years ago. I wanted to get in the podcast space, now I'm in it. I wanted to work on being syndicated in some markets, I'm doing that. I wanted to be close to home, and I'm doing that. God can do exceedingly abundantly above it all and that's all I can ask. Sometimes I think about what the Bible says in Ephesians 3:20 - which has been my mantra forever. So, I know the next thing he blesses me with is going to be big -- a big opportunity, a big place, a big influence, and a big check. I know it's going to because I've acknowledged, served, and trusted a BIG God during the seasons when I was the most uncomfortable and unsure.

9) What motivates you?

My nephew motivates me. Brayden has been my little beacon of faith since the day he was born. He has such a light about him, he's so smart, active, sweet and funny. Seriously, like he's been on planet Earth before. He has great parents, awesome grandparents, but it's something about having that cool Auntie, you know? I want him to grow up and know his aunt made a difference and changed the game of entertainment. I want him to hear me on radio, see me on tv and dominate the industry. And he will see that. What also motivates me is my city. Not much comes from where I'm from and to be the age that I am and making the moves that I have, is a testament to God's faithfulness to be someone to look up to where I'm from.

10) How would you describe your approach to as an air personality?

Make people feel comfortable. When you create a safe space through your person and conversation, you make it easier for people to connect with you and build a relationship. Kelly Mac reinforced that to me on my way to Detroit, which is one of the realest markets I've been in. In Detroit, they know how to separate the real from the fake and to get the love and respect from the city in such a short amount of time --it confirmed all the more that I was on to something by simply being who God has called me to be in this generation of radio. When you are your true self that's when he can move through you and make waves that you can't make alone.