The Person
Behind
the Pen
Hailing from a little city in Central Florida called Ocala, my name is Yasmene Warren. I won’t lie and say I’ve always known I wanted to be a writer when I grew up, but I’ve never been a stranger to the craft. From drafting short stories for my elementary school peers to adore and earning impressive essay scores to exploring literary genres in creative writing and reporting on breaking news in a concise but engaging fashion — there isn’t a single area of writing I’m afraid to test my skills in. I’ve always enjoyed writing, but it didn’t occur to me that I could do it for a living until I went to college.
Circling back to June 2019, I came to the University of Central Florida as a head-strong nursing major with financial security and a successful future on my mind and left in December of 2022 allowing my passions to define my success — and I couldn’t be happier.
Switching my major to journalism in July of 2019 shifted me into a state of writing euphoria, and I haven’t been able to shake it yet (and don’t intend to)! My career has introduced me to extraordinary people, each with their own awe-inspiring stories that continue making immense contributions to my development as a writer and growth as a person.
There’s always more to come, and I hope you’ll stick along for the ride! :)
- Yasmene
My Academic Endeavors
I attended the University of Central Florida for three years and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in English — Creative Writing in December 2022.
During my time at UCF, I wrote and reported for the school’s student-run news outlet, NSM Today. I got firsthand experience working in a fast-paced news environment, reporting and writing articles on a tight deadline. I spent my fall 2021 semester reporting and publishing multimedia stories with Orlando’s renowned news outlet, the Orlando Sentinel. My spring 2022 semester was spent creating video packages for television news.
I developed new skills in copywriting, editing and proofreading from my internships at The Online Farmers Market, Watermark and The Apopka Voice. I composed a variety of media from blog posts to feature articles to profiles.
From 2019 to 2022, I worked at WUCF TV & FM in script writing and audio editing. I spent my graduating semester at UCF serving as copy chief of NSM Today and editing hundreds of news stories for publication.
In 2023, I landed my first job post-graduation at Rosen Hotels & Resorts as its junior copywriter. In this role, I focused on composing engaging website copy, marketing collateral, email blasts and digital blog posts, all while crafting and maintaining the brand voice.
My academic achievements and experiences have led me to my current position at Universal Destinations & Experiences as its associate news writer where I compose high-impact news articles for the Discover Universal blog. I also freelance for The Orlando Real, writing blogs about real estate and life in the City Beautiful, all of which you can find below.