Heidi has taken a spin all over the world before landing in Austin. She’s lived in China, Spain and the Galapagos Islands and says she feels blessed to bring an international perspective to the news of Central Texas.

Heidi’s last stop was in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. She lived there for almost a year, reporting for the Spanish-speaking station AT9. During her time off, she hung out with sea lions and her fiancé William, who is also a news reporter. The couple recently completed a documentary about sex workers in Galapagos’ brothels.

Before her stint in South America, Heidi studied abroad in Madrid. She perfected her Spanish there and taught SAT classes to high school students. She herself graduated cum laude from the Medill School of Journalism with majors in journalism and Spanish. She took three months off during her junior year to report for KVRR in Fargo, North Dakota.

Heidi’s first international trip was the most important one in her life. When she was six, she left her birthplace of Beijing, China, and moved to Minnesota with her family. Her first memories of the United States are manicured lawns, classical music on the car radio, and the huge size of bananas.

Heidi says her experiences around the globe have taught her a profound respect for the diversity of our planet. She says Austin is the perfect place to observe that diversity in action. That’s one of the reasons she’s now a proud Austinite!

So how does Heidi feel after all that traveling? Tired, and happy to settle down in one of the best places she’s ever been!