From the moment she first acknowledged the impressive work of famous journalists like Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell, some of her biggest inspirations, she saw the vision for her future career. 

Gabrielle Washington (10) has a plan for the future to become a political journalist. Aside from the works of the mentioned journalists, there’s a lot that has inspired Washington to continue writing inside and outside the classroom. When Washington was 6 years old, her father passed away to cancer, leaving her with a lot of emotions to unpack. Afterwards, her grandma who she calls “Nan Nan”, stepped in to help raise her as her mom works a lot as an Human Resources Manager for the US Postal Service, managing 5 to 10 states at a time. Her grandma eventually moved away because of the passing of her husband, Washington’s grandpa. Of course, all of this affected Washington and impacted her life.

Afterwards, Washington continued to write and is still writing in her high school classes. Since the 5th grade, Washington has been writing books as well as in high school writing for her ELA and Journalism classes. “It’s how I express myself,” Washington said. Washington also mentions how it’s easier to write about it and express herself through writing because she’s not big on expressing herself verbally. Washington says in the future she would like to pursue political journalism, despite her writing style now.