Juan Benn Jr. (right) speaking at “print night” in The Hilltop office. (Keith Golden Jr./The
Hilltop)
I was leaving an end-of-the-school-year cookout last May when I got a call from JD Jean-Jacques. He told me he was selected to be The Hilltop’s next editor-in-chief, and he wanted me to be his managing editor.
I had just finished nine months of running The Hilltop’s multimedia content, including a weekly podcast called, “The HillTalks.” It was spring, and I was graduating in the fall, with only one class left to take for my degree. I was up for the challenge and accepted JD’s offer.
Soon commenced a summer full of emails, Zoom calls, spreadsheets and applications until the presidential debate in June. Then-president Joe Biden dropped out of the race a month later, and the vice president at the time, Kamala Harris, started her campaign. In August, Harris secured the Democratic nomination, and The Hilltop was there to cover it — a Howard alumna was in the race for the White House.
Ultimately, Harris didn’t win. But her campaign put a new spotlight on Howard, and, thus, The Hilltop. National and local media outlets reached out to interview us. We were on the other side of the story. But when I look back on my seven months as managing editor, I am most proud of how we rose to the occasion, even beyond our election coverage.
We published three print editions in a single semester. Our newly minted video team made its feature-length debut at a debate watch party. Our reporters, section editors and copy editors worked hard each week to bring stories to our dedicated readers. The photography team’s sports coverage and election night photos blow me away to this day.
I’m honored to have been a part of this paper, and I’m proud of my successor Sydney Goitia-Doran for continuing its legacy.
