Atencio also spoke frankly about how her transition to NBC in 2016, as someone whose first language is not English, led to bouts of self-doubt. She said: "I was asking myself, 'Am I really qualified for this? There's not a lot of people around me who look like me, speak like me, or cover the same stories.'" This was due, in part, to the overwhelming lack of diversity in newsrooms across the U.S. According to a 2018 report by the Women’s Media Center, women of color made up about 13% of staff at local television stations, just under 8% of staff at print publications , and roughly 6% of staff at radio stations. But Atencio said that as she struggled with her impostor syndrome, she received an overwhelming support from young people from underrepresented communities.