Akayla Gardner is a White House correspondent with Bloomberg News in Washington, D.C., where she reports a wide variety of issues ranging from politics to gun violence to the economy.
Prior to this role, Gardner was an equality and Bloomberg Live intern for Bloomberg News. As an intern for Bloomberg, she covered the New York City mayoral race, reported stories on gender and race, and shot and produced social media videos. Her internship with Bloomberg led to a full-time position, which eventually relocated her to Washington, just outside of her hometown, Silver Spring, Md. She's written articles on abortion, police reform and voting trends as well as appearing on network broadcasts, where she speaks to policies and current issues.
Gardner said that in her role with Bloomberg, writing and transcribing happens in real-time, teaching her to be bold and confident. Within Gardner’s role, she gets to travel with the president and vice president around the globe to report on the executive branch and inform others on pressing issues.
Gardner’s path to Bloomberg started as a journalism student at Ohio State. She was a founding member and president of the National Association of Black Journalists chapter, working to bring the organization to Ohio State and building it from the ground up. Gardner also worked as news director, special projects director and a senior reporter for The Lantern and Lantern TV. She spent her time at the Lantern covering stories on politics, immigration, race and mental health. “I wanted to cover politics — where the biggest issues intersect and policy points back to people,” Gardner said.
Through her time in college, Gardner received numerous awards and scholarships that show her contributions and successes. She was granted a College Production Award from the regional chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for an investigative documentary and received the Monda International Experience Scholarship to study abroad in Brazil. She is also a Morrill Scholar.
Article written by student Becca Schroth
