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Vanessa Pacheco was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the oldest of four children. Scouted from high school to play soccer for college, Vanessa ended up in Louisiana. She attended Grambling State University where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Mass Communications with emphasis in Visual Communications and a Masters of Arts in Mass Communications. In 2012 Vanessa moved to the Hattiesburg area and began reporting at WDAM.