Tensie J. Taylor is a motivational speaker, an educator, an author and a red carpet host, but before she was any of that, she was a student at NC State, and before she was that, she was just a shy child who was bullied mercilessly because of her big eyes.

Taylor grew up in Louisburg, North Carolina. From elementary school all the way throughout high school, Taylor was bullied. She had food thrown at her, names called at her and even more extreme examples of bullying such as someone trying to break her arm and someone dangling her from the roof of a two-story building. 

Despite the hardships of her early life, Taylor has found several successful careers as an adult and decided in April of 2015 that she wanted to share her journey with others. She wrote a book, “BULLIED, From Terror to Triumph,” that tells her story in 24 chapters. The book follows Taylor from her early childhood and tells how she overcame bullying, depression and a suicide attempt at 16. 

As an adult and graduate, Taylor works for the University of Southern California’s Black Alumni Association. As the association’s assistant director, Taylor runs a program to help students with their public speaking and works toward raising funds for scholarships. In addition to Taylor’s work in education, she has a second job involving a red carpet and a lot of celebrities.

“I am a red carpet host for an online network, Rich Girl Network, where I go and attend award shows in Hollywood and interview celebrities,” Taylor said. “I’ve attended the Oscars, Grammys, People’s Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, more than 150 events in Hollywood and have interviewed 300 celebrities.”

Before moving to Los Angeles, Taylor attended NC State, receiving her bachelor’s in communication and a minor in psychology in 2009. She also worked at the university’s Office of Equity and Diversity for several years.

Taylor said her experience at NC State was mostly positive, and on her first day as a freshman, she received a compliment for her large eyes, a feature she had been bullied about as a child.

“She was one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met,” said Ed Funkhouser, a communication professor at NC State who taught Taylor. “Bright, a hard worker and dedicated to high achievement. You just knew she was headed for success and probably fame.”

In August of 2012, Taylor moved from North Carolina to California to pursue her master’s degree.

“When I left North Carolina, I told myself that I was going to be involved with any and every opportunity I could,” Taylor said. “Los Angeles is the city of angels, and anything can happen with celebrities and award shows — you never know who you’ll meet. I stayed true to those words. I networked.

“I met people, got their business cards and followed up. From there, I just started to meet people and network. Before I knew it, people started to know me as well.” 

In 2013, one of these people offered Taylor a hosting job at Rich Girl Network, and from there, Taylor began to work at award shows and meet celebrities.

“Just by being polite and following up with people,” Taylor said. “That’s how I went from North Carolina to Hollywood. Now because I’m on the red carpet a lot, celebrities even know me by name.”

Taylor said some of these celebrities have been really encouraging and supportive of her cause, with actress Jayne Kennedy Overton and actor and director Carl Anthony Payne being two of such celebrities to endorse her book.

“I used to be very shy because of the bullying and because I’m a very small person, but I had a really strong support system,” Taylor said. “No matter what I faced at school, when I got home, I was safe.”

While she grew up, Taylor said her parents shared stories with her of their childhood, dealing with segregation as African-American children. Hearing what her parents went through and seeing their success as adults inspired her in many ways to stay tough in the face of adversity.   

“They told me keep going. They said, ‘Tensie, if you really want to make a name for yourself, you can’t be shy. Nobody remembers shy people,’” Taylor said. “That’s how I went from being bullied and being an introvert to being extraverted because my parents brought that out of me.” 

“BULLIED, From Terror to Triumph” contains several stories from Taylor’s parents about growing up in segregation and the advice they gave her to get through hard times. These stories and others are found in the Thank You chapter of Taylor’s book, a chapter that thanks all of the people who helped and encouraged Taylor throughout her life. 

Taylor said her parents also encouraged her as an adult to write about her experiences because she was not the only one. She said that everywhere she went, she heard or was told about someone’s experience with bullying. This, coupled with hearing tragic stories about the effects of bullying on the news, gave her inspiration to write her story. 

“One day, I was on such a roll that I wrote 75 pages,” Taylor said. “When it’s your story, you don’t have to think about it.” 

Taylor said she was amazed at how much she could remember, even to the point where she could remember the outfits she wore in elementary, middle and high school.

“When people realize what I went through and how I came out triumphant, I think it really will help a lot of people,” Taylor said. “I also list statistics and resources to help people who are bullied.”

Taylor also works with the Anti-Defamation League and the Too Dope to Bully program, two programs dedicated to stopping bullying. Her book will be available to purchase from Amazon, Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble Jan. 26.