These women inspired Cheryl to become a reporter. She started volunteering 50 hours a week for free, trying to pursue her dream. Looking back, she says it’s necessary to, "Get your skills in place, work as hard as you can. Put your foot in the door to be ready when your break is here."

Cheryl started her career with a pad of paper and pencil for the school newspaper then graduated to a tape recorder. She is now a successful anchor for abc7. She began her broadcasting career in 1974 at a San Francisco radio station. She joined abc7 News in 1979 as a general assignment reporter. Nine years passed, and she was promoted to weekend news anchor. After another two years, she became the weekday anchor. Cheryl likes the job because it’s different everyday, it’s always interesting, and she get paid for doing something she loves.

For Cheryl reporting is "about telling the story, not just seeing it on TV." In fact, her favorite part of the job is going out in the field and finding her own facts. Though she doesn’t write the entire show, she does help the other writers flesh out interesting topics that she learned from reading and researching.

We also asked Cheryl what she did in her free time. She told us that in her free time, she likes to help her community and the world. In this vein, in 2005, Cheryl went to Afghanistan to work with the organization she co-founded—the Roots of Peace Penny Campaign. The Roots of Peace Penny Campaign helps to de-mine playgrounds, soccer fields and schools in Afghanistan and other war torn countries.