Rachel Scott, one of the youngest Capitol Hill correspondents ever and a USC alumnus, will speak at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism commencement on May 13, the university announced Thursday.
Scott, the ABC News congressional correspondent across programs including “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Nightline” and “20/20,” graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Annenberg in 2016. She spent her first day on the job coving the Capitol Riots on Jan. 6 and later led network coverage of the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
Scott later went viral when she pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin several times in an interview, asking “You didn’t answer my question, sir ... If all of your political opponents are dead, in prison or poisoned, doesn’t that send a message that you don’t want a fair political fight?” She also provided on-the-ground coverage for nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and COVID-19′s impact on communities of color and most recently led ABC News’ coverage of the confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
After graduating from Annenberg, Scott started her career as a production associate for ABC News Live and an additional role as a weekend general assignments reporter for an ABC affiliate in New Haven, Connecticut.
In 2019, she was assigned to ABC’s White House team in Washington, D.C. and became the network’s embedded reporter on the Trump campaign. The next year, Scott was promoted to White House and D.C. correspondent and the National Association of Black Journalists named her its Emerging Journalist of the Year.
Scott continues to stay involved with USC through the Annenberg Youth Academy, the USC Alumni Association and Annenberg career development services.
“Rachel’s career trajectory so far — from our media center to reporting from our nation’s capital and beyond — is nothing short of extraordinary,” USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay said. “Her reporting is rigorous, ethical and fearless … Rachel represents the very best of what we mean when we say ‘Trojan Family.’”
Past Annenberg commencement speakers have included Oprah Winfrey; television writer Norman Lear; sports entrepreneur Maverick Carter; Craigslist founder Craig Newmark; chairman and CEO of BET Networks Debra L. Lee; broadcasting executive Carole Black; actress and activist Geena Davis; and Univision and Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos.