Maria E. Aguilera signed off from KHOU 11 on Friday, wrapping up four years as a reporter for Houston’s CBS affiliate, according to her social media.
Aguilera joined KHOU in October 2022 and served a bilingual reporter at the Houston TV station, her LinkedIn page states. She said she plans to stay in Houston and spend more time with her husband Julian, her corgi Milo, her family and friends.
“This job has reminded me every day that life is short, and I want to live as much of it as I can,” Aguilera said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle.
Aguilera grew up in Houston and graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in broadcast journalism, according to the news station. She spent more than five years reporting throughout Texas before she arrived at KHOU, according to her LinkedIn. Her previous stops included KVUE in Austin, KCEN in Temple and KTXS in Abilene, according to KHOU.
“The best part, by far, was the people who trusted me enough to tell their stories during some of the hardest moments of their lives and those who allowed me to help in some way,” she said. “I will always hold those people and their stories dear to my heart.”
Aguilera said she had wanted to return to Houston throughout her journalism career, and achieving that goal “felt almost serendipitous.” The timing seemed perfect — she had just gotten engaged, and she and her fiancé would be able to reunite with their family.
“It has been an honor to report in my hometown and meet so many amazing people along the way,” she said. “I had the privilege of working alongside longtime journalists and photojournalists who taught me so much, and I made some lifelong friends along the way.”
KHOU’s news director did not immediately return a request for comment.
Her departure from KHOU coincided with that of Bill Bishop, the station’s veteran managing editor who spent 42 years at the outlet, according to KHOU.
This story may be updated.