Photographer Vashon Jordan, Jr. breaks down how he was able to attend college in Chicago well below the national average and achieve career milestones. 
 
 From May to September 2020, 21-year-old independent photographer Vashon Jordan Jr. created a visual record of many demonstrations in Chicago. In more than 17,000 photographs, he documented local responses to racial injustices and police brutality across the country. He saw community activism in places unseen by major media that focused on destruction. He captured a youth-led social movement based on peace and joy during the COVID-19 pandemic summer.
 
 By using disposable cameras while in elementary school, Jordan learned to value the moment to frame compositions and catch action. A camera allowed him to participate in events and emotionally process experiences. Determined to “be the change you want to see,” in high school, with a better camera, he voluntarily covered parades around the city and built an audience on social media. Although accepted by Columbia College, he attended more affordable Kennedy-King College and absorbed life lessons from diverse students. He became the first photography student intern for the Chicago Public Schools. Traveling by public transportation from his West Pullman home to the CPS office in the Loop, he saw the disparities between the neighborhoods and the sparkling downtown. Columbia College then granted him a full tuition scholarship for two years. After graduating in May 2020 in television production and directing, Jordan joined the Chicago Tribune as a photojournalism intern. He currently works as the Staff Photographer at JB for Governor, which is Governor Pritzker’s re-election campaign.
 
 He has appeared many times on TV and podcasts. The Chicago History Museum acquired his photographs of the 2020 protests for its research center and collection and his work was included in an art exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum.