It's such a special thing for me to have my mom there to witness me receiving such a prestigious award. My mom is the one who taught me to work hard, be patient, and to always do the job right. She always encouraged me to follow my heart, and to work for things that I wanted to do. She encouraged me always to be myself and not to change myself for anyone. These lessons showed me that life doesn't need to be laborious or ingenuine, and my work here at News 12 truly is nothing but enjoyable. 

I love to make her proud because I know how much it means to her to see me happy and enjoying what I do. For us, we enjoy going to functions like this, dressing up, laughing, and just having a good time. We don't take winning or losing seriously because we focus on the fun and the bonding moments instead. Winning my third New York Emmy wasn't the only thing that made her happy that evening. She was so happy about the love that I received from my colleagues in the room. I had a tough time being the victim of bullying while growing up. She fought to protect me every time, and I know it was emotionally taxing. She now sees that I am surrounded by friendship and support, and I know that really brings her incredible comfort and joy. She deserves this.

It has been an absolute dream to be recognized for my work and to be surrounded by such a supportive group of colleagues that I can call friends and even family. At the end of the night, she surprised me with our cousins Marietta and Johnny, and her boyfriend Rocco! This is essentially the closest family that we have. Everything was just perfect. We celebrated the rest of the evening together and it just was a wonderful night.