My Journey in Albanian-American Media

Interviewing Albania's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Ferit Hoxha in April of 2022.

“Raise your hand if you want to pursue education outside of Albania?” In a class of thirty 13-year-olds, twenty-nine of them raised their hand.

My name is Kendra. I was born and raised in Tirana, Albania, where I attended Edith Durham School, one of the best public schools in the country. My dad had come from Korça and worked in the General Directorate of Taxation. My mother, who originally came from Berat, was a professor who had worked in the office of the Prime Minister. I had what most would call a privileged lifestyle in my home country, as did many of my classmates who raised their hands at this question. Yet for as long as I can remember, all I wanted to do when I lived in Albania was to leave. Through my parents’ immense sacrifice, I was able to get that opportunity.

Fourteen-year-old me was full of hope and dreams, even though my quality of life seemingly took a hit at first. My parents and I lived in a small apartment with only the things we had packed up in our suitcases, having left everything and everyone we knew behind in Albania. It was a difficult time, where we were left with no safety net in a foreign country. There was, however, a sense of responsibility looming through my head to make my family proud. I researched all the best high schools in New York City and was able to get into Bard High School Early College Manhattan. There I was able to enroll in college-level courses, graduating with more than 60 college credits out of high school and an Associate degree along with my high school diploma.

During my time in high school, I was able to rise to leadership roles in many extracurriculars and political campaigns, where I discovered my passion for politics and government. Seeing how policy can directly impact peoples’ lives enlightened me to how much I could do through my work. This is why I chose to study CLEG (Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government) at American University in Washington, D.C., a major I am on track to complete within two years.

The summer before college, I worked for the New York City Housing Development Corporation (NYCHDC) on Wall Street, where I was able to learn from those working in the public finance sector. This experience helped me to start work at the D.C. Mayor ’s Office on Latino Affairs, where I am learning about impactful grants and community work in depth. 

As rewarding as all of these experiences have been, I have never felt more passion than when working for my Albanian community. The major irony of my life is the fact that I always wished to live in the US and now that the dream has become reality, my life purpose revolves around helping my people succeed wherever they are. Here is how that happened.

I began my work within the Albanian community at the ALBALIFE school and TV station. It started small during the pandemic, helping my mother write lesson plans for the Albanian language children’s classes she was teaching. Being much closer in age, I had a better idea of what class material kids would enjoy and it always felt valuable to give a helping hand. The following year, it came time to return in person, which allowed me to attend various ALBALIFE events and get to know the people working there closely. I was soon given the responsibility and privilege of conducting interviews for important events in the community. This included the inauguration of Fan Noli Way, my first time appearing on the TV station, when I got the chance to interview Albania’s Permanent Representative in the UN Security Council Ferit Hoxha, Albanian Ambassador to the U.S. Floreta Faber, and City Council Member Mark Gjonaj. I was received well by the public, which led me to moderate more shows and interviews for momentous Albanian occasions.

The inauguration of Fan Noli Way in Bronx, New York City in April of 2022.

Whether it was something as simple as a school graduation or as fancy as a gala, I enjoyed each and every event. That being said, some of these events and the lessons I gained from them stand out. The shows that I did with a live audience on the TV network were very energizing. Audience praise is a truly unique feeling, but a live audience brings a special pressure to not make mistakes. Luckily, I happened to have a cool head and quick thinking, which I relied on more than once to not keep my nerves from getting the best of me.

I found that the image a moderator projects is just as important. The younger and more articulate presenters were, the more a halo effect seemed to surround them, enhancing the audience’s perception of the media they were consuming. We see this happen often in Albanian media, with attractive news anchors and moderators selected with the hopes of improving audience experience. There are a lot of aspects that go into the presentation, be it appearance, voice and the energy you emit. You also need to appear engaged with the person you are interviewing, paying close attention to their responses and bouncing off their energy. After all, if the interviewer doesn’t pay attention to the subject, how can the audience find them interesting? The most important tool that I used was enthusiasm, which not only made me enjoy the experience more but became contagious to the viewers as well.

Interviewing Albania's former Ambassador to the U.S.Floreta Faber during the Ismail Qemali Way inauguration ceremony in May of 2023.

One of my favorite occasions was the inauguration of Ismail Qemali Way in Staten Island, a significant reason for which was the amount of freedom I was allowed. At this point, I had become more familiar with New York’s Albanian community and important members of the diaspora. This meant that I knew who to interview and the best questions to ask. Due to my previous work with the TV station, I was recognized by some of the community leaders I interviewed, which was also quite special. That day I interviewed as many participants as I could and felt really comfortable in the process. Among the leaders interviewed were Qamil Vlora, the founding father’s nephew, Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama, Staten Island borough president Vito Fossella and other prominent Albanian-Americans. That day, Prishtina and Staten Island became sister cities, which figured prominently in my interview questions.

My experiences were so special to me because I got to take part in historic occasions for our community and saw the power we held when united. New York City has a large Albanian community, meaning that many politicians give weight to our voice. I saw figures like Senator Chuck Schumer and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani come to our events, which demonstrates how important we can be to American life. This is something I would like to see utilized in the future for the interest of our community in government and public policy. We have a sizable diaspora that is often underrepresented in many fields in the US, including media and politics. I have witnessed so much talent and ambition among this community and I believe that our current generation is vital in putting the country on the map.

Reporting on the historic Ismail Qemali Way inauguration ceremony in May of 2023.

Often Americans don’t know even the basics about Albania, tending to lump it in with Eastern Europe or the Middle East. The most mainstream coverage of Albania I have witnessed is movies like Taken, which is not in the slightest an accurate or comprehensive view of our country. Careers in media are often not supported within the Albanian community, with many parents telling their children that media and entertainment are not serious or sustainable work. If we don’t have members of our community go into the media, it will be difficult to change perceptions of Albanians living in the diaspora. Collaborations with talented individuals from our community and American media will be essential to building a more accurate and constructive image.

It is just as important that there is more Albanian media from those living in the diaspora. This media needs to have engaging shows that are followed by more young people. The most followed Albanian TV content I have seen is from Top Channel or other major news networks located in Albania. Our diaspora needs to build its own news sources with large viewerships. This is not to say that we don’t have media in the diaspora. In fact, there are historic institutions, one of them being the oldest Albanian-American newspaper Gazeta Dielli which stretches back to 1909, when it was founded by Fan Noli. The problem is that a lot of this media does not enjoy a large enough following among young people to get them organized. We need to make our community more aware of already existing media and ensure they are engaging and accessible to all, especially the youth.

As a final note, I want to express that my nearly five years in the US have taught me to love my people and my origins. Certainly, as all Albanians, I am occasionally still frustrated by many factors, but I have come to see just how much potential we hold, especially in the diaspora. I plan to keep working diligently with and for the Albanian community and help it in any way I can. Some of us tend to be cynical, of which I am sometimes guilty, too, but I nonetheless full-heartedly mean it when I say that it is my mission on this earth to do well for my people. Idealistic though that may sound, we must have genuine hope for the future. If we want to improve, hope is the only thing that will keep us motivated and I have found it has been key to any success I might have had so far.

Helping present at the ALBALIFE Christmas Special in December of 2023.

Attending the ALBALIFE Fifteenth Anniversary Gala in March of 2023.