ESPN studio operator Lanaya Price found herself in the sports world through a pathway not exactly related to athletics.
“I would say it goes back to my childhood being influenced by my uncle, who was a camera operator at ‘The Cosby Show,’” she said to the AmNews while attending the 46th Annual Sports Emmy Awards staged on May 20 at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
“So it was the exposure, the conversations, and just him talking to me and pulling me aside like, ‘hey, what do you want to do with your future?’ It is just being able to be around somebody who already has something great established for themselves in their career, and that’s what I did. I pursued it, and I did it, thanks to him.”
The Jamaica, Queens native embraced every opportunity afforded to her to gain and sharpen the requisite skills to ascend to ESPN, known as the worldwide leader in sports.
“I am a studio operator, so I’m actually the one behind the camera operating your cameras and also doing video shading, handheld work, steady camera, so on and so forth. I’m very passionate about technology.”
Price has welcomed the challenge of keeping up with rapidly evolving technology in the sports and entertainment industries.
“ESPN has a different way that they do things, and when I came in the door, I had experience in local news here in New York,” said Price. “And going to ESPN, I had to learn things in a different way, it was different (technology) languages. It only made me better at the end of the day. I just had to apply myself. I had great mentors, and I just had a go get it mindset.”
Price is proud of her tenure at ESPN.
“Celebrating 14 years as a woman in tech at ESPN, what a surreal milestone,” she said. ”This journey has been fun, challenging, and incredibly fulfilling. Working at the worldwide leader isn’t just a job, it’s a lifestyle that’s shaped me in so many ways.”
Price, who founded Terminaya Fitness, a youth basketball and fitness camp, shared advice for those aspiring to enter the industry but do not have the mentors she had.
“Stay true to your passion, stay true to what you’’e connected to, don’t take no for an answer,” she emphasized. “Continue to see things through. You have to have grit, you have to have determination… you have to stay persistent and push through those nos to get to that yes.”