Mileka Lincoln

After a decade away, I feel blessed to return to my hometown Hawai'i to fulfill my dream of working as a journalist! There's nothing like getting to do what you love, in the community you love, surrounded by the people you love!!

I was born and raised on Hawai'i Island in the beautiful hills of Waimea, where I attended Hawai'i Preparatory Academy (GO KANIS!). I was a bookworm with big glasses, and I couldn't wait to see what the world had to offer!

First stop: Los Angeles, the city where dreams are made! …and that was certainly the case for me – I'm a proud Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Southern California (GO TROJANS!). My time at 'SC was incredible! I studied abroad in London, mastered driving in LA, back-packed through Italy and Greece, and spent every waking moment on campus at ATVN – our student-run news station, where I worked my way up the ranks from floor director, to one-man-band reporter, to evening anchor.

Next stop: Texas! I got my start in TV News working along the border in Laredo, where I anchored the morning show and covered the district and federal courts. From there I made my way north to San Antonio, where I started out doing traffic in the morning and left anchoring weekends. As a member of a military family, it was truly an honor to work in Military City, U.S.A.! From the revolutionary treatment developed for combat canines suffering from PTSD… to being "embedded" during a 22-hour training day with one of the most elite Special Operation Forces teams (USAF Pararescuemen!) – it was a privilege to share the humbling stories of our men and women (and pups!) who serve! Most recently, I worked in Austin. We launched a brand new morning show, and I was thrilled to anchor it. Sure the 2 AM alarms were tough, but I love the energy of a morning show and who doesn't like when their weekends start at 11 AM on Friday?!

Now: I'm finally home! It's a dream come true – made possible by timing, a lot of luck, and hopefully, a little fate!

I've never lived on O'ahu, so I'm really enjoying exploring this beautiful new island. Send me your suggestions if you've got a recommendation for a great place to eat, a hike I should try, or a beach I need to check out, and if you know about places that are pup-friendly, send them my way – I've got a rescue stray who loves a good adventure!

I'm looking forward to meeting the amazing people in our community and telling your stories!

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