The St. Pius X Diverse Student Union enjoyed a visit from CNN anchor Jacqueline Howard, who specializes in medical advancements. Covering and writing stories on live television, Howard serves as an inspiration to young journalists, especially those of color, as she is part of the five percent of black journalists in the United States. 

Howard has been at CNN since 2022 with a beat in health science, and since then has written over 15 articles, but before working at CNN, she was a local news broadcaster at The Huffington Post in Michigan, where she was featured on her first broadcast medical program, Talk Nerdy to Me, streamed online and in schools nationwide. 

Journalism made its way into Howard’s life from a young age. When Howard was around seven years old, her family was interviewed on how they celebrate Kwanzaa. She remembers the reporter who asked parents questions and a photographer who took the picture, and found the whole ordeal fascinating. 

Howard says, “The whole experience of being interviewed by a journalist kind of sparked my very first interest.”  

Despite her growing interest in journalism, Howard spent her high school years doing track and field, cheerleading, and being a part of the orchestra. 

“ Even though I knew I was interested in journalism. I actually took that time in high school to explore other passions,” said Howard, “but during my free time, I spent a lot of time watching the news, reading newspapers.” 

Howard also subscribed to magazines as well as practicing her writing skills, whether it was in her journal or writing fiction stories, poems, or news articles.  

Following graduation, Howard attended the University of Michigan with a major in journalism, and unlike in her high school career, she wanted to do anything and everything related to journalism.  While there, she and other students founded the National Association of Black Journalists chapter. 

Howard found that the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) was a valuable organization for students and young journalists.

She said, “You can have direct contact with working journalists, with news organizations that are hiring, and it’s a great way to build your network when you’re starting your career. It may be the only way you may have a direct line of access to the journalists that you admire.” 

At the University of Michigan, Howard interned for the university’s research magazine. It was there that she learned that there is a section in journalism solely devoted to medical news. It was then that she decided to carve out a beat or specificity in Medical Journalism. 

After finishing her undergrad at the University of Michigan, she spent a few years at WCPO TV in Cincinnati, Ohio, but she knew deep down that she wanted to do health journalism. 

Naturally, this led to her return to school; she went to the University of Southern California to participate in USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism, where she got her master’s in health journalism. Through that program, she learned the skills that would make her an efficient health journalist, such as how to digest, analyze, and understand public health information. 

After years of experience, the Diverse Student Union greatly appreciated Howard’s visit. 

She shares, “How powerful a tool [journalism] is in sharing stories and giving voice to people who may be from communities that are often not heard by the public.” 

 Howard is an inspiration to all future journalists because of her class, determination, and candor. You can find her on the CNN website.