A job more important than ever: journalism grad on covering local elections

Journalism is all about getting the story, and the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media trains students to do just that. The school embeds undergraduates in local news organizations so they can put their classroom instruction into action for the benefit of the public. The students also run the Caplin News online platform, which offers another opportunity for them to share accurate, timely information with a broad audience.

Critical to the students’ professional development, the hands-on education pays off as they graduate from campus to careers with valuable real-world experience to their credit. Brianna Duardo ’26 is a perfect example. She earned her degree last month and has already landed a freelance role that will see her cover the upcoming school board runoff elections in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. She shares how FIU helped get her there.

Our senior capstone project had my classmates and me partnering with the Florida Trib on a topic that I now consider one of the most important: school board elections.

When most people think about elections, they think about voting for a president. The truth is, not a lot of people turn out for local elections. And yet, these smaller contests are the ones that matter most. They determine what’s going on in your city. And for parents, they determine what’s going on at your child’s school.

I have attended public schools my entire life and had been aware of many of the struggles they face. It was only as I began covering those running for office, however, that I came to understand the bigger picture. Schools aren't getting adequately funded. Schools are closing. Teachers can’t live near where they work because they can't afford the housing. I now recognize that these and other local issues need addressing through the media because they affect everyone every single day.

My assignment was to prepare a profile about Monroe County School District 1 candidate Darren Horan, just as my fellow students would cover others running in other districts in counties throughout the state.

I had never before done any kind of political writing, and the challenge provided an excellent first experience in how to conduct thorough research. I learned how to look through public databases for all kinds of information, including financial records around campaign donations and expenditures: How much had the candidate raised? Who donated the money? Did anything look out of place, like someone from outside of the district making a large contribution? And because the subject of my inquiry was an incumbent, I could look back to see how he had voted on specific issues and the views he holds.

The investigative skills I honed in the process proved invaluable not only because I can employ them throughout the rest of my career but, in this case, because the individual to whom I was assigned would not return my calls or answer my emails. He essentially chose not to participate in my telling of his story.

Turns out, that would not be a problem.

True to the collaborative spirit found in much of the industry, the professional journalists around me, as well as Caplin’s own executive director, Pulitzer Prize-winning former investigative reporter Manny Garcia, showed me how to navigate the situation. They taught me how to craft a solid article based on solid sources and previously published articles so that I could serve citizens looking to make informed decisions.

Learning on the job represented both a huge opportunity for me and a steep curve. At the time, I felt intimidated as I considered the thousands of people likely to read my piece as they looked for accurate, reliable information about whom to vote for. But that’s precisely what made my work feel important, and I eagerly embraced it.

That experience opened the door to my current role as a freelance reporter. Within days of walking across the commencement stage, I covered the Aug. 17 school board elections across Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. I kept up with nine races and wrote three articles during what seemed, at moments throughout the day, almost overwhelming. But my coursework and professors had prepared me, and I came through with stories that confirmed for residents who had been chosen to serve as their leaders and who would advance to runoff elections, which I will cover for the Florida Trib in November.  

Now an established freelance reporter with a track record, I look forward to whatever comes next. Less than two months out of FIU, I see the possibilities at a time when the work I do feels more critical than ever.