President Barack H. Obama was the first president whose election I was eligible to vote.
I remember vividly, when I was FINALLY 18 and old enough to vote; I knew that I would vote that first time and each time that followed.
Realizing that most of my family, outside of my siblings, were not born with the right to vote, I’ve always felt like I needed to exercise my right to vote.
I had probably voted in two elections prior to the General election but I had been surrounded by the City of Detroit’s Election Department since I was a small child.
My mother worked as an election inspector and eventually was promoted to chairperson. I would visit her after school with my grandmother. My grandmother would vote and I would go from election inspector to election inspector talking and generally being a curious child. Our local precinct was an originally in the local Lutheran church. Eventually, it moved to the Baptist Church I attended to accommodate those with disabilities. Later, it was moved to the local high school and then a Catholic church.
By the time the 2008 Presidential Election rolled around, I had begun working as an election inspector as well.
Also, I was beginning my sophomore year at Wayne State University in the Journalism Department.
One of the journalism course I took during the Fall of 2008, was News Writing with Benjamin Burns.
Professor Burns was a tall, older gentleman with a quiet voice and a playful spirit. Although he has since died, the journalism lessons he taught myself and other students are reflected in our writing.
One assignment he gave the class was to compile the resumes of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates.
Professor Burns gave us no indication of who to vote for, who he was voting for, or even his political party. He simply wanted us to do the work, the research.
This skill would prove useful with each article I’ve written.
More importantly, it shaped how I voted.
The first few elections, I voted based on name recognition or a few issues that I deemed important. However, once Professor Burns gave the assignment, I began to research candidates up for election in depth.
As the months and years passed, other journalism professors gave similar assignments. I watched State of the Union addresses, learned how to fill out a Freedom of Information Act Request Form, and read how to write.
I’m not sure why I correlate Former President Obama with my new found political research, but I do.
Because Former President Obama’s 2008 election was the first I was eligible to vote, there was a special feeling I had.
Regardless of who is President of the United States in the future, I will always remember the feeling I got when I voted in my first presidential election after Professor Burns had his News Reporting class research the candidates.
I am a better U.S. citizen because of one election and for that reason, I will miss Former President Barack H. Obama.
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