Maya began her career in sports television at Home Team Sports in Bethesda, Md., in 1999. In the beginning, she was a mere marketing intern trying to figure it all out. But before long, she knew her heart was in production, not marketing. Her first "gig" -- for no money, of course -- was as co-producer on a harness racing show called "Racing from Rosecroft."

Later, she started to read billboards for Baltimore Orioles broadcasts, and then she was allowed to report on the "Orioles All Access" show. During this time, she became quite handy on the robotics camera used for Orioles, Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals broadcasts. She continued to freelance for HTS on the robotics camera while taking a full-time job at the MCI Center as a hand-held camera operator.

Although she has a passion for camera work, Maya's dream was to be a reporter. She was eventually hired at the NBC affiliate in Tupelo, Miss., as the weekend sports anchor in 2001. "My camera work most definitely came in handy and offset my horrendous on-camera work. Thank goodness I got better," she says. After two years in Mississippi, she moved to NBC17 in January 2003.

Maya is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a four-year starter on the volleyball team. A Denver native, she said returning to North Carolina was almost like coming home. "Basketball, especially women's basketball, are near and dear to my heart, so North Carolina is a wonderful spot for me. I have even learned to love me some NASCAR racin'," she says.