Terria Smith, born in Indio, California, is a tribal member of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians one of nine Cahuilla tribes in Southern California. Her interest for journalistic writing stemmed at age 20 after having a letter-to-the-editor published in The Desert Sun, which earned her recognition in the community. Smith is a student in the 2012 class of the University of California Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. She completed her undergraduate education in 2008 at Humboldt State University. That summer, she interned as a general assignment reporter at the Ventura County Star as a Chips Quinn Scholar. Following the internship, she spent almost two years as a reporter at The Desert Sun newspaper. Throughout the educational and professional journey her most important job has been being a mother to her two daughters Elka, 16, and Emma, 8.