Hey, my name is Andrew! I'm 18 years old, and I live in Cleveland, Ohio. In December of 2012, I began posting political commentaries to my YouTube channel TeenTake. The intention was to create a time capsule of videos so that, in the future, I could reflect back on the evolution of my political views. But never would I had imagined the doors and opportunities soon to be opened for me...
My confrontation with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi truly launched me into the media spotlight; resulting in interviews with Neil Cavuto, Alex Jones, Abby Martin, Jeff Berwick, etc. To be honest, I almost didn't question Pelosi about her support of the NSA and its warrantless wiretapping. I didn't want to ruffle any feathers on Capitol Hill. However, I soon realized that I had made the right choice of uploading the awkward encounter when my mom and grandma respectively replied, in response to watching the video, "Think twice before posting. I hope you live until you're 18." (Hey grandma, I made it!)
There's a corrupt, complex backstory to how I actually met Nancy Pelosi, though. (If you wanna hear the whole thing, let me know!) Anyway, here's the simplified version: C-SPAN hosts an annual documentary contest for high school students, and my entry about GMOs won first prize. Long story short, C-SPAN flew me out to Washington D.C. to film an interview... and to take advantage of some photo ops with Pelosi.
But enough about her! I've also asked – or have at least attempted to ask until I was ignored or otherwise shut down – tough questions of Barack Obama, Ann Coulter, Sen. Marco Rubio, Dr. Ben Carson, John McAfee, Fran Drescher, the Westboro Baptist Church, and others. Similar to what Rahm Emmanuel once said (though hopefully less maliciously), I never put a good encounter with a polarizing, high-profile political figure to waste!
So, let me wrap things up here! I'll be attending and majoring in journalism at George Washington University this fall in the nation's capital. I'm so excited not only to move to a new city, but also to be "up close and personal" with those influencing the future of our country and our world. Just imagine all the opportunities in which I'll be able to ask more tough questions of even more important people!
I look forward to interacting with you all and sharing more of my stories! Trust me, there are many...