Reporting and Writing

Journalism has allowed me to learn about and explore many different writing styles and methods to convey information. I enjoy writing book reviews, as I am a prolific (and opinionated) reader. The experience of looking at something familiar, like reading a book, with a different perspective is refreshing, as is relating to other students that also enjoy reading and are on the lookout for something interesting to read. I have also explored other styles of writing such as opinions, feature stories and standard news stories.

Jordan Anderson, a Columbia native, is a NASCAR Xfinity owner, and this story reports his journey from a driver to starting and developing his own racing team. Anderson's story is unique, and I wanted to draw attention to a story that most of my peers hadn't heard before. For this in feature story, I attended a Xfinity race at the Darlington Raceway and interviewed Anderson. 

I was selected to attend the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington. D.C. from June 22-27, 2024 as the representative from South Carolina. This engaging and impactful conference covered topics from media ethics, understanding the First Amendment, and career opportunities in journalism. Panel participants included founders of news organizations, Pulitzer Prize winning photographers and national anchors. A staff member of the Freedom Forum contacted me to write about my experience.

For this opinion piece, fellow journalist Ranya Reed and I explore the topic of separating religion from schools. We discuss what the First Amendment covers in regard to religion in schools, and a Fellow for Religious Liberty at the Freedom Forum was interviewed. This story was inspired by my experience attending the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Conference. Our school is located in a community with rich religious diversity, and as reporters from different religious backgrounds, we wanted to share our perspectives on the importance of protecting our religious practices by the First Amendment.

South Carolina School Report Cards reflected an “Unsatisfactory” for my high school. The report card was released on October 15, 2024 by the South Carolina Department of Education and the S.C. Education Oversight Committee. This news story reports on the data to inform the school community on the findings.

Susan Mathews was Richland Northeast High School’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year. In this feature story, I interviewed Ms. Mathews and filmed her in the classroom setting for B-roll. Her approach to education is explored, as well as how she makes Physics relatable to students and relevant in their lives. It lets the school community know more about Ms. Mathews personal interests as well.

The two candidates running in the 2022 State Superintendent of Education Election had vastly different platforms, experience, and resources. Recognizing that the effects of this race could have on students in public education, I wanted to bring the story to my school community and let them know the date of the election. This script lasts about three and a half minutes.

I am a prolific reader and have enjoyed learning to write engaging book reviews on young adult books. I focused on the Caraval trilogy to follow the characters through the plot twists while providing feedback and insights into my impressions.

While I enjoy reading many different types of literature, history is my favorite subject to read about. “Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II” was an engaging read as it follows the human aspect of the war during the collapse of Poland. Our online newspaper had not previously covered a history book as part of a book review, but I wanted to expand the scope of coverage and share it with my school. I thought that many students and teachers would be interested in the subject matter.

Fellow journalist Gurjevan Bansal and I covered our Navy Junior ROTC's Annual Military Inspection. As part of our coverage, we interviewed three of the highest-ranking students in the program to get their input on how the proceedings went.