Professional Experience

May 2023 - present: Sports Reporter at WINK News

September 2020 – May 2023: Reporter at WINK News
Previously worked as a Sports and News Anchor/Reporter at WUFT News in Gainesville, FL; Sports Coordinator at ESPN Gainesville WRUF; interned at WSVN and 790 The Ticket in Miami, FL

Awards & Recognition

2020 Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists Award in Education Reporting
2020 Broadcast Education Association Award of Excellence (TV Sports Talent, TV Sports News Program, and TV Sports Story/Feature Short)
University of Florida Red Barber Award

News Philosophy

Every story must be told with honesty and integrity. It’s a journalist’s responsibility and privilege to share people’s stories.

Hobbies, interests and community involvement

Spending time with friends and family; and cheering on the Florida Gators, Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins and New York Yankees.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Telecommunication-News, University of Florida summa cum laude

Likes best about SWFL

Being a native Floridian, it’s great to be within driving distance to friends and family as well as everything the state has to offer. The people here truly make SWFL feel like home. You also can’t beat Florida in the winter!

Hometown

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Colorado commit Winston Watkins Jr. back home, playing for First Baptist

A familiar name for Southwest Florida football fans, Winston Watkins Jr., is back home. This time, wearing a First Baptist Academy uniform. “It feels great to be another Watkins and write my own legacy,” And become the next great Watkins. The junior wide receiver comes from a football family. His cousins are Sammy and Jaylen […]

Lehigh’s Nair Alvarez bowls a perfect game

Lehigh Senior High School bowler Nair Alvarez achieved perfection. A 300 score. A perfect game. WWhenever he watches the video of his accomplishment, the memory is still fresh. “It’s like a fever dream I have and I’m still in it,” Nair Alvarez said. Rolling strikes comes easy for the senior bowler, even though he only […]

Best of the Bands

We’re going into Week 7 of the high school football season! We’ve seen a lot of highlights from players and teams across Southwest Florida. We’ve also seen some show-stopping halftime performances from our area’s marching bands. Let’s take a look back at some of those performances from the season so far. Fort Myers (Week 1) […]

SWFL High School Football: Week 5

Week 5 of High School Football in SWFL saw a lot of action once again. It was highlighted by the WINK News Game of the Week as undefeated Estero traveled to Estero to take on the Wildcats, who won three straight. You can catch the highlights here courtesy of WINK Sports Reporter Zach Oliveri. Friday […]

WINK News Game of the Week: Cape Coral at Estero

It was a battle of two teams on winning streaks for the WINK News Game of the Week. Undefeated Cape Coral traveled to Estero to face the Wildcats, who won three straight. Estero’s offense broke through and showed out in a 38-0 win. WINK Sports Reporter Zach Oliveri brings you the highlights.