shanika goodspeed / 202 NEIGHBOR /
Meet Gilbert’s Shanika Goodspeed
Tell us about your involvement in the community. Giving back to the community is a soft spot of mine, hence the Social Justice aspect of my major in college. Anything involving the less fortunate and oppressed usually gets my attention the quickest. Children and the elderly are the most interesting to work with in my opinion. With children, you will always receive the most honest, unadulterated opinions and responses. And it is humbling working with the elderly as they are seemingly sources of infinite wisdom. My last two projects in the community were a 5k run benefiting Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and a 5k Heart Walk with the American Heart Association to raise awareness for cardiovascular disease. Tell us about some of your proudest achievements. I started studying Spanish when I was in middle school, and although I resisted, my mother pushed me to continue learning it. I did so throughout high school and ended up declaring it as a minor in college. In my third year of college I moved to Costa Rica and attended Universidad Nacional and became fluent in Spanish. I attribute the achievement of becoming bilingual - one of my proudest achievements - to my mother. Do you have any advice for those wanting to pursue a career like yours? The entertainment industry is overly saturated with aspiring artists. For those who dream everyday about doing this and can’t seem to find their niche anywhere else, I recommend finding your own uniqueness and embracing it. Don’t try adopting a style that already exists. Those who are successful in the industry are successful because they introduced a different element of creativity that wasn’t already out there. What’s your favorite East Valley hangout? I am anywhere that has good food; one of my hobbies is eating. I recently had a great experience at Blue Wasabi, a sushi restaurant in Gilbert. The food is great and the service is exceptional. During the weekends you’ll find me... ...either in the house trying to hide from the heat or somewhere looking to get a rush. Half of me is a homebody; the other half is an adrenaline junkie. I live for new experiences! Best part about living in the Loop? The Loop is packed with everything anyone could possibly need. Rarely would you have to leave because you are looking for something that isn’t here. What is something others don’t know about you? I turned down a full ride track and field scholarship to do the hurdles when I was in high school because I didn’t want to be obligated to run all four years in college. 202
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etween juggling days as a Marketing Director at San Tan Ford and flying back and forth from the Bay Area on weekends to record music, Shanika Goodspeed has quite the busy life! Check out what this East Valley local and former Raiderette has to say. Tell us about yourself. I majored in Performing Arts & Social Justice in college. Performing had become my passion. As a freshman at the University of San Francisco, I earned a spot on the dance team. I met my agent and turned pro shortly after, and through him I traveled all over the world performing for major corporations and with prominent artists. I became an NFL cheerleader for the Raiders in 2008 and continued performing with bands. Eventually, I began doing background vocals for them. The more I sang, the more I felt compelled to do both. It became difficult to just dance; I wanted the microphone as well!
202magazine.com / AUGUST 2013 / 202 MAGAZINE
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