Hannah Evans’ Journalism Dream Started in Elementary School

By Zaniyah Clayborne

When Hannah Evans was an elementary-school student at New Jerusalem Christian School in Jackson, Miss., she and her mother would watch the morning news on CBS. She sat on the floor in her school uniform while her mother did her hair. The pain of her mother brushing her forehead was slowly taken away by watching the morning news anchors on the TV. “They told the stories in such a compelling way, I couldn’t pick one that sticks out,” Evans recalls. 

These early mornings with her mom ignited Evans’ love for journalism. “I always thought the news anchors were so cool,” she says. While she never had a favorite anchor growing up, she now loves the CBS Evening News with Nora O’Donnell. 

Evans is a rising junior at Madison Central High School where she is a member of many organizations, including High Tech Video Production. The High Tech class is a multimedia class that focuses on filming, podcasting and other kinds of broadcasting. The class taught Evans what a real news studio looks and feels like. “The class really solidified to me that journalism was the career I wanted to pursue,” she says. A career in journalism drew in Evans because she wants to tell the stories that she sees on the news every evening. “News anchors have such a cool job.” 

Outside school, Evans enjoys spending time with her family and friends, including with her best friend, Shyla Hudson. One of her favorite memories with Hudson was when the two accidentally went to the car wash with the windows down. The two were new drivers and were so engulfed in conversation that they forgot to roll the windows up. The car got soaked—and so did the girls. 

The two have only known each other for a little over a year, but they are closer than ever. “I just know that we are going to be friends for a long time,” Evans says.

Evans lives with her mother, stepfather, sister and two nieces. She and her sister are closer than they have ever been, considering they are 14 years apart. Her sister moved in a couple years ago, and the two love spending time together. “I wouldn’t trade my sister for the world,” Evans says. Their age gap made it difficult for them to bond when they were younger. “By the time I started school, she had already moved out,” Evans recalls. As they get older, Evans hopes that her connection with her older sister will only get stronger.  

After high school, Evans wants to attend either Howard University or Florida A&M University to pursue a degree in journalism. She is considering these two colleges because she wants to attend an HBCU and have a college experience with people who look like her. “HBCU life always seemed interesting to me,” she says. Evans hopes that journalism will give her the opportunity to travel the world after college.

She wants to become a news anchor or work for a big news publication like The New York Times. “I like learning about different people’s stories and how they lived,” she says. 

Evans joined the Youth Media Project because she believed the program was “right up her alley,” as she wants to improve her journalism skills on her journey to working in broadcast journalism. She hopes to gain some of the necessary skills that she needs to become a news anchor or reporter.