Getting to Meet Hillary Rodham Clinton

On March 29, 2008, I met Hillary Rodham Clinton and got to sit down and interview her. This was probably the most exciting day in my life. As a feminist and a Democrat, getting the opportunity to actually cover a woman of great respect and accomplishment was definitely worth all the work beforehand.

I was a crime reporter for the Jeffersonville Evening News and the New Albany Tribune, two daily newspapers just outside Louisville, Ky. One day, one of my editors told me he heard a rumor Hillary Rodham Clinton was coming to town as part of her campaign for the presidential nomination. Since the police need to be involved in planning such an event for the safety of politicians and citizens, it was a sure bet that if this rumor was true someone in one of the area police or sheriff's departments would know it.

Sure enough, the rumor was true and confirmed by a reliable police source. However, the dates that Hillary Rodham Clinton might actually show up were a matter of debate. I had to stay in constant touch with people in the local police departments and people with the presidential campaign. Finally, it was confirmed that Hillary Rodham Clinton was coming to New Albany, Ind. for a luncheon on Saturday, March 29, 2008.

I was thrilled I was going to be covering the event, called a "Hoosiers on the Economy" roundtable. But I did not actually think I would be able to meet and interview Hillary Rodham Clinton. However, one of her press people and I arranged a five-minute sitdown interview.

Covering the luncheon was exciting in itself. In my mind, I could see her becoming president. She was warm, personable, and intelligent. When it was time for me to stand in line to interview Hillary Rodham Clinton, my legs were shaking. I was so unbelievably happy that this was happening to me, and that also I could show the readers of our community newspapers what she was all about.

The actual interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton was brief, but at the end she asked me some questions about me and my journalism career. Then someone snapped a picture of us, which I sadly never got in my email.

The moral of this story is that even if you think you're just a reporter or writer in a small town, with enough courage and perseverance you too could one day interview someone as prolific as Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the weeks that followed, I also met Chelsea Clinton, Colin Powell, and did a telephone interview with Barack Obama. I've worked at huge newspapers and small newspapers, had front page stories that tens of thousands of people read, and good-sized paychecks. Due to a major change of life circumstances, I am now freelancing again. No matter what happens, I'll always remember March 29, 2009. Nothing in my career has meant as much to me as the one day I got to interview Hillary Rodham Clinton in a small Southern Indiana town.