Today, for the 29th day of the "Women’s History Month" project, we are celebrating this gorgeous young woman

Hannah Yechivi , 27, daughter, sister, Costa Rica born, News Reporter, food and gym enthusiast...

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” Golda Meir

Where are you from? 

I was born and raised in San José, Costa Rica. In 2015 when I was 16 years old I moved to Panama, I graduated high school there and then moved to Tampa, FL to get a bachelor’s degree in mass communications at the University of South Florida.

 What do you do for work?

After graduation, I applied to several small market TV station jobs and one which I found really interesting was an opportunity in Vacationland, a state I had never visited before but one I had heard amazing things of. After a challenging interview with NEWS CENTER Maine, the news director called me back a month later offering me a job. As an international student this was a great opportunity because NEWS CENTER Maine was willing to sponsor me. A couple days later I was moving to Bangor for my first on-air reporting job. I was very excited and eager to learn more about Maine and its people. I will always be thankful to the incredible mentors that I’ve had for the past three years here in Maine. 

Life challenges?

Moving to Panama from Costa Rice when I was 15 years old was a real challenge, I had my close group of friends and family and was moving to a new country where I had to make new friends and start from scratch. But with positivity, that challenge made me successfully graduate with good grades and qualify for scholarships at some universities in the U.S. including at USF where I ended up going to school and graduating from.

Moving to Maine as a Costa Rica-native and after living in sunny Florida was a bit of a challenge for me at first, I had relatives and friends in Florida and now once again was starting from scratch. Regarding the cold, I quickly realized that layering up and doing fun winter related activities like snowmobiling has made the cold winter months for me a lot easier. My natural curiosity and interest in learning new things and new people  has made me overcome these challenge.

Time and deadlines are an every day challenge, as they are for everyone else. However having a day-to-day schedule is the key to success for me. Set time frames for things and make it a priority to complete them successfully before your deadline.

Another challenge that I am still trying to figure out, the more I do this job, is how to have a work-life balance and allow myself to have more “me” time. Some days I found myself working 10 to 12 hour shifts and quickly realized I was going to fall into a pattern where I could lose interest and excitement into coming to work. I encourage every woman to set boundaries and always spend daily time doing thigs that makes you unwind from work. For me that is going to a gym class, watching an episode of a tv series, cooking something yummy, or simply walking around the neighborhood to get some fresh air.

Life achievements? 

• After finding scholarships and ways to make my college education more affordable, I’m proud to be the first one in my family to receive a university degree.
• I speak three languages which has opened me the door to new opportunities including the job I currently hold.
• In my effort to tell human-interest stories that matter to Mainers, I have been nominated for an Emmy award for one of my stories, and have also won an Edward Murrow award.

What are your passions? 

I have a passion to tell our viewers people and human-interest stories. Every day I could be chasing a big fire, interviewing politicians on pressing topics, telling a good story on something you’ve likely never heard or seen before. I currently work the morning show which means I wake up at 1:30am or 2am to be ready to go when our show starts at 4:30am and runs through 7am. Even though I’m typically awake when everyone is asleep… I enjoy waking up every day and telling a new story to our viewers. Many people don’t know that I have to execute everything in a story from start to finish. From coming up with the story idea, to going by myself and shooting the story, quickly heading back to the newsroom to write and edit my story, to be able to make slot in our newscast. 

What do you value the most in life?  

I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends and it’s a thing I truly value in life. I love trying out new restaurants and new cuisines, visiting new national parks, hiking, exploring new countries and cultures, and practicing my French language skills too!  

Loyalty is something I truly value from family, friends, and the place I work for. 

Advice for other women? 

• Take risks
• Learn from mistakes
• Be empathetic: always help and care for others
• Trust yourself and your instincts 
• Be easy on yourself. 
• There is always room for improvement and I’m lucky to have incredible mentors by my side that I always look up to. I encourage women to always find a mentor or a person with strong work ethics or values that you can shadow, get tips from, or simply know that if you have a work-related concern or issue they might know the way around it. 
• Find people you can trust that you can speak about personal issues (non-work related)
• See something, say something: If you see or hear something that is unfair (even if it’s not with you) speak up. You have no idea how much of a difference you can make in others’ lives by being a voice and standing up toward bad behavior or injustices you whiteness. 

Here is a few more of Hannah's favorite quotes:

Pura Vida: It’s Costa Rica’s famous quote I live by. It means ‘pure life’ and it goes back to this country’s stance on the military and violence in general. Costa Ricans are peaceful people who don’t believe in war. Fun fact: Costa Rica is the only Latin American country that doesn’t have an army. 

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you,"  - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

*****

Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your story and empowering others!

#womenshistorymonth #womansupportingwomen #womanpower #mainephotographer