My Portfolio
Welcome to my portfolio. Here you’ll find a selection of my work. Explore my projects to learn more about what I do.
REPORTING & WRITING
I've found that throughout my last four years as a high school journalist reporting and writing has served as the heartbeat of my storytelling experience. Shedding a light on the diverse experiences, achievements and issues within my school has been immensely rewarding. As high school journalists, we bear the responsibility of fostering a sense of unity and amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard. In navigating the realms of news, feature and opinion, I have not only been able to build upon my journalistic skills but also contribute to the shared narrative of my school. Take a look below and view a few of my favorite articles that I've written for the Catalyst newspaper, Catalyst online and Prowler yearbook.
MY PROCESS
Typically every Thursday, our staff gets together to brainstorm ideas before signing up for our story of the week. Scouring news sites, our school's daily announcements and the activity calendar we craft ideas for potential stories and write them down on a shared google doc, so when it comes time to sign up we are a little less in the unknown and ready to report on the topic that we choose. This system is a great way not only to collaborate and brainstorm ideas, but also see the different angles and perspectives that my peers hold.
After getting assigned my story for the week, I make sure to gather as much information as possible on the subject of my story. I also use this process as a way to come up with questions to interview. For example, When I was writing the story, "Love on a Leash" I had no previous knowledge about the non-profit organization "Pups with a Purpose," so I used what I know best, social media. I scoured their Instagram and Facebook, which led me to their website. I gained information on their organization timeline, mission and events. This greatly helped me develop my story, while also making sure it was credible.
After finishing up my own research, I'm ready to start interviewing. I begin drafting a few questions in my notes app that I think would relate to the angle of my story. Then through email, I usually write a message like the one below, explaining what I want the interview to be about and times that would work for the both of us to conduct an in-person interview. During the interview I take note of everything they say in response to my questions.
After conducting my interviews and collecting my research I begin to write my story. I start by first creating a layout for how I want to place my facts and interviews throughout the story and then I actually place the information and my writing.
After finishing up my first draft, I then share my story with the section editor on the shared google spreadsheet below. Since my story on the Pause for a Cause event was news, I shared the document with our News Editor and then after making his corrections I share it with our adviser.
After I've made my section editor's corrections and my advisor's corrections I log into our online website and start the process of publishing my story online. I place the text, by-line, image and captions into the system and click submit for review. I then wait for my advisor to publish my story online, and then ta-da my story is ready to be viewed.
