Election 2020 Reflection

It’s hard to encapsulate all of the feelings I’ve felt this past week. I guess one word would be exhausted. But a more fitting one would be blessed. Not only was I able to vote for the first time in such a historical presidential election, I also had the honor of covering it first-hand from our nation’s capital.

On Election Day, myself and my team were tasked with creating and executing a full 15 minute newscast with all original same-day coverage and re. We were each assigned different roles, different stories to cover, and different deadlines to have our packages and all other supporting elements submitted and edited. I served in the role of Producer over the entire newscast, on top of my same day reporting and editing.

Producing a full newscast is hard in-and-of-itself, but doing one in a virtual environment is even harder. Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong— from software malfunctions, to uploading and downloading deficiencies, to complete project and file deletions, to missed deadlines, and everything in between.

But despite it all, I am so, so proud of myself and my team for pulling it off and creating a wholistic and informative newscast with accurate information and updates, for the first time.

After Election Day had passed, my team and I got some hard earned rest as results poured in state by state. And just four days later, we had a projected President-Elect.

I woke up late that Saturday morning to my phone buzzing sporadically with the news. I immediately turned on the television to see thousands of people in the streets of Washington, D.C., and other major cites across the country, celebrating. Even through the TV screen, the energy felt electric, and I knew then that I wanted to be able to capture and witness this moment first hand, and share it with my Howard University community and audiences beyond.

I got dressed, masked up, and head out to Black Lives Matter Plaza with just me and my camera (and of course other equipment).

Whatever I thought I felt through the TV was amplified tenfold as my Uber got closer and closer to my destination. My Uber driver happened to be a native Washingtonian and said that this was even crazier than when former President Barack Obama was elected in 2008.

Over the next few hours, I captured photos and videos of people celebrating in front of the White House. From dancing to cultural music, to climbing and swinging from traffic lights waving Biden-Harris 2020 flags, to the spraying of champagne over my head, it was truly a day to remember, and an honor to witness and be apart of.

And to make the moment even sweeter, I now have the honor to say that I go to the same Historically Black University as the first female Vice President Elect of the United States of America.

Watching history being made is one thing. Being on the street as it happens right before your eyes is another. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to do both, while simultaneously pursuing my passion in journalism.