My Interview in Bold Journey Magazine!

I always appreciate opportunities to share my story in hopes that I can help inspire someone with my journey and life experiences. So, I was very happy and honored when the editorial staff at BoldJourney.com reached out to interview me!

In May 2024, Natalie at Bold Journey Online Magazine reached out to me via email. A new arm of the Voyage Magazine online mag, she said they had launched a new initiative called Bold Journey designed to help get the word out about great local businesses, artists, and creatives. She said they would love to feature my story and learn more about how I acquired the skills, knowledge, and habits that helped you get to where you are today.

It’s not everyday you see a female Electrical Engineer roll over into a successful Voiceover Career. I hope I’m paving the way for others who have the passion to reinvent themselves and become the hero of their own story! However, it IS every day that you need to watch out for "self promotion" scams. Bold Journey Magazine happens to be a reputable and well established resource for people wanting to be inspired by other people's journeys in business ownership, entrepreneurial pursuits and life goals. 

My story is not unique… we all have struggles that we’ve overcome and stories to tell. I do hope, though, that someone that reads and learns my story can see a little bit of themselves in it and gain inspiration. To become bold in their life and make their voice heard.

Typically, the first time they learn about a contributor, they like to know your unique angle of experience and expertise. In my case, it was extreme career transition. I had the added angle of being a new mom without child care and I was eager to share "what happened" and "How I did it".

THE ARTICLE

Here is an excerpt of the beginning of the article. If you'd like to read the full Interview, you can cisit it HERE! 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Del Toro Schaffner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa Del Toro, so good to have you with us today. We’ve got so much planned, so let’s jump right into it. We live in such a diverse world, and in many ways the world is getting better and more understanding but it’s far from perfect. There are so many times where folks find themselves in rooms or situations where they are the only ones that look like them – that might mean being the only woman of color in the room or the only person who grew up in a certain environment etc. Can you talk to us about how you’ve managed to thrive even in situations where you were the only one in the room?

Growing up a little Puerto Rican girl in a Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, I didn’t see many other kids who looked like me. However, I didn’t think I looked any different until it was pointed out to me way later in life. Even though I am of Puerto Rican heritage and not Caucasian like most of my classmates, I never felt too different except in what we ate at home. I went into the sciences (Electrical Engineering at Penn State University), where most of the students were men, and then when I moved into the corporate world, most of the people in engineering were men also. That never seemed to bother me, because I felt I could create camaraderie with anyone. I’ve always used my sense of humor and open outlook about the world to build bridges and create connections with people of all different races, sexual orientations, genders, religions, etc. I think that comes from the fact that my parents always accepted me as exactly who I am, as well as my friends. They always told me I could accomplish anything; success isn’t dependent on anything but your training, experience and determination. I really believe that the confidence to be successful in any room we are in, resides in our self worth and in understanding our overwhelming commonalities with other people, rather than our differences.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

When I was in high school, they asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I only knew of two things to do with my life – become a teacher like my mother or an engineer, like my father. Since I wanted a wealthy, independent life, I chose electrical engineering, in hopes of generating greater wealth than my father. But, I never felt that I fit in to that career. I didn’t feel that I could express myself creatively with electrical things. My dream was to be the voice of a cartoon character and bring those wild, zany personalities to life. Strangely enough, I did learn how to act like an electrical engineer and how to act like a project manager in the corporate world. And this served me very well on my way to my career as a Voice Actor. So much of the acting craft is studying people and getting into their heads. It’s about taking material that has been written and making it yours, adding your own humanity to it. One of the things I LOVE MOST about voice acting is being paid to breathe life into characters – whether it is for an audiobook, a commercial, a children’s podcast, or an animated flick. You can hear me as a whale, a hummingbird, a tour guide and so many other endearing characters on the very popular Who Smarted?! Children’s podcast. I’ve also narrated audiobooks for Audible, as well as narrated and produced an anthology of original, short, science fiction stories for The Untold Tales podcast. I’m looking to voice more animated cartoon and video game characters, so if you are an animator, animation or video game casting director, let’s chat!!!

The rest of the article can be found at https://boldjourney.com/meet-melissa-del-toro-schaffner/ 

THANK YOU TO MY "REFERRER"

Often, these online magazines reach out to people who have been referred to them by others they have worked with. So, I don't know my secret fan but I thank you for giving me an opportunity to tell my story. A full life is filled with opportunities to tell our story and pay-it-forward with our wins, defeats and lessons learned.

Finally, the article concludes with my contact info, that I'll add here again for convenience!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissadeltoro.com/voiceover
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissadeltoro_voiceover
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissadeltorointernational
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaideltoro/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/melissaideltoro?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MelissaDelToro
• Other: https://www.untold-tales.com/

Thank you Natalie and the team at Bold Journey for allowing me the platform to share mine!