The first time Jordyn Isaacs wrote an article for her college newspaper, her faculty advisor had some very strong feedback. “He was like, ‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever read,’” Isaacs recalls to Her Campus. Then a freshman at Hampton University who’d discovered her passion for journalism in high school, Isaacs had a choice: take the criticism personally, or use it to grow. She chose the latter. “To me, it wasn’t, like, ‘Dang, that’s a dig.’ It was like, ‘OK, well, how do I fix this? I want to learn. I want to be the best.'”
That outlook, paired with a lot of hard work, paid off. During her time in college, Isaacs worked her way up at the newspaper, later becoming the editor-in-chief — and logging some impressive bylines along the way. “Vice President Kamala Harris came to our university, so I was able to report with the White House Press Corps,” she recalls. “While just serving as a staffer, I was going to the Legacy Classic, a basketball game that Michael B. Jordan hosts.” She also recounts interviewing notable figures such as famed costume designer Ruth E. Carter and sports journalist Taylor Rooks. “All of those things really poured into who I am now.”
Still, Isaacs found herself reaching for more opportunities beyond what college had to offer. “Everyone used to always tell me, ‘You’re a freshman. You can’t get an internship.’ And I was like, ‘Nope, I’m gonna get an internship,’” she says. “My first internship was with NASA. They have a disaster communications program in Virginia.” From there, she held positions at MIT, Bloomberg, ESSENCE Girls United, EBONY Media, NBCUniversal, and Her Campus Media — all during her time in undergrad.
Through these experiences, Isaacs learned the importance of advocating for herself. “I’m just always staying on my P’s and Q’s and showing people, yes, I’m young. Yes, I’m a woman. Yes, I’m showing up in these rooms at 21 years old, but I am about my business, and I’m really passionate about the work that I do, just like everyone else in this room that’s been doing it for decades,” she says.
Now just six months post-grad, Isaacs is working in production at ABC News Live, which marks her pivot into the world of broadcast media. She says her extensive editorial experience helped her step into this new role, but does she miss print journalism? “No, I don’t think so,” she says. “I think TV is definitely the route and direction that I want to go.”
That’s not to say she’s fully parted ways with the written word. While holding down her gig at ABC, Isaacs landed a freelance assignment with ESSENCE, interviewing none other than Oprah Winfrey in September.
As most great opportunities do, this one came about through a mix of hard work, good connections, and great timing. When a publicist working with Oprah approached Isaacs at an event asking for help connecting with ESSENCE — where Isaacs previously interned — for a potential interview, Isaacs was happy to help, with no expectation of receiving anything in return. A few days later, the publicist reached out to ask if Isaacs could do the interview. This experience was living proof of what student journalists learn in school: “Word of mouth travels a long way in the industry, more than any resume,” Isaacs says.
Interviewing a global icon is no small feat, but it’s what Isaacs has been preparing for all this time. “I was like, ‘You’re ready. This is my moment. This is my time,’” Isaacs says of her headspace ahead of the interview. “And I thought there’s no better person to speak to but Oprah, because if anyone asks me what I want to do, I always point to her.”
Isaacs focused on crafting the best questions she could, intent on drawing as much from the experience as possible — and she succeeded. “She was so receptive,” Isaacs says, recalling how Oprah complimented the care Isaacs put into the questions. “I love when people say that, because it [shows they] know that you’re actually intentional about the research that you’ve done, the questions that you’re asking. It was incredible.”
Aside from being a huge career break for Isaacs, the interview with Oprah also led to new opportunities at ABC News Live. “My team came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve seen this, and we think you’d be really good on the booking team.’ So they rotated me over.” Now, she’s exploring a whole new avenue for her burgeoning media career.
Isaacs may have already experienced plenty of career highs, but she’s just getting started. “My next goal [is] to not only be the face of a show, but to produce it, and really care about the work that’s coming in on the back end as a young Gen Z journalist, host, and producer.”
She hopes she can encourage other young journalists not to feel deterred from reaching for opportunities that seem like they’re reserved for older, more experienced journalists. That’s what pushed her to become involved in organizations like the Culture Creators Youth Advisory Council, where she helps provide mentorship for aspiring creatives.
“People that will actually give you the opportunity while you’re young [are so important],” she says. “We see a lot of people talk about, ‘Oh, I did this when I was 30. I did this when I was 40.’ But you can do it now. And I think what stops people from doing the things now can be their self-esteem, or access, or just [lack of] connections.”
It’s this sentiment that keeps Isaacs pushing forward, blazing the trail not only for herself, but for the young journalists she hopes will follow in her footsteps, reaching for the stars and refusing to let rejection or criticism keep them from achieving their dreams — and then coming up with even bigger ones.