No matter the medium, every story I tell is rooted in writing. Over the course of my years on staff, I have strengthened my writing skills through practice, edits, UIL competitions and stepping outside of my comfort zone to cover a variety of topics.
Students stand up for abortion rights in organized walkout
I stepped out into my school’s courtyard, watching the parade of people grow with each second. Outstretched arms held signs in protest of the Roe v. Wade leaked draft as chants were yelled in unison. I immediately got to work, photographing candid moments and interviewing those involved--both in support and opposition. In the half-hour following, I worked with a fellow staffer on transcribing quotes and formatting a draft. One hour after the event, I uploaded this story to inform the school on what was currently going on. I found the experience to be very interesting. Getting to interview a variety of students and learning their reasoning for attending the walkout was very informative.
Saving lives with a blood drive
For this article, I attended a blood drive hosted by a current student. Writing this article was very informative as I learned about the ongoing blood shortage and the actions taken to ensure that the nation has enough blood for patients in need. I took time to interview students donating blood and one of the phlebotomists working to get as much insight into the story as possible.
Lacrosse senior captain competing in college
I was initially hesitant to write this story. I had never written a sports story prior to this, and when I was asked to cover it in the paper I was not sure how I would cover a sport I knew nothing about. I started by researching how Lacrosse works to understand just what I am writing about. I learned a ton about both the sport and the process of college recruitment for athletics. This story ended up receiving an honorable mention for the NSPA 2022 Digital Story of the Year: Multimedia Sports Story competition.
OPINION
As a journalist, I believe that it is important for students to be able to openly express their opinions through writing. The topics I have written were about ongoing events that were truly important to me. For example, here is a piece I wrote for the Austin American Statesmen on the COVID experience as a high schooler, and here is a piece I wrote for The Teen Magazine on gun control. Timeliness drives my opinion writing, and I am inspired by what I am the most knowledgeable about.
