2017-2018 Writing
*Click the image to view the PDF larger to read the stories
Feature--
In wake of Nassar scandal, students react to the Michigan State University connection
I am especially proud of writing this story because we were able to take a difficult, national topic and localize it to South. We did research to give background on the issues, but didn't focus on that because when the piece was published, the issue was already widely known. We interviewed a South gymnast who had actually previously been treated by Nassar to get her perspective, a future MSU athlete who said she felt the case impacted he, and others' decisions, we interviewed the school psychologist to talk about sexual assault in general and an MSU student who gave insight as to how the Nassar scandal had impacted the campus directly at that time. The extensive planning and interviewing relating to this story was what allowed it to be so successful, and let South students not just look at the issue as something unrelated to them, but localized it, which is a big goal for our paper. This won second place in the news analysis story category at MIPA for the 2017-2018 school year.
News Writing--
Walkout: South students participate in vigil honoring the victims of Parkland shooting
This piece was a result of on the spot, impromptu interviewing/reporting, combined with follow up interviews. I led a team of reporters to cover this walkout that occurred in our school, and was assigned with a partner to cover the event, but we had to develop the angle as we interviewed. We talked to police officers at the event, participants, including both teachers and students, parents that attended, hall monitors
Opinion Writing--
Senior final exams...optional?
As the end of the year neared, a lot of my teachers, especially in classes I had with mostly seniors, were talking about the idea of not having final exams and how many schools don't and all the benefits to that system, such as motivating students' (especially second semester seniors) to attend and do well in their classes near the end of the year. I proposed this idea to the editorial board because of its timeliness and relevance. A lot of research was put into this editorial, and a quote from one of the teachers who was talking about the benefits of being able to opt out of final exams as a senior, which made it so effective. I wanted to make the piece as convincing as possible, and was a bit unsure of it when I read it to the editorial board before it was published, but after I read it I got multiple comments about how convincing and well-written it was.
NewsWriting--
Choir takes Europe:
South choirs travel through Europe over midwinter break to perform
This was a solid news story I took on about the international trip the choir took over midwinter break last year. It had an interesting lead and premise, and I was able to talk to not only the students on the trip, but a parent who went and was able to talk about previous years on choir trips as well. Learning about each person's favorite part and challenges through the interviewing and writing process was interesting and made writing the story enjoyable.
Opinion Writing--
From the future Editor in Chief:
Upholding and learning from Tower's legacy
I looked forward to writing this column since the moment I decided to apply to be the next Editor in Chief of The Tower. It was a privilege. I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to cover in this column, and decided to reach out to my audience-- the community, student body, staff and administrators who read our paper each week-- and show them my personality and goals. I made myself vulnerable to a certain extent and started with how I got to this point, my history in journalism. I then got to talk about my experience in Tower, what I love about it, how proud I am of this publication and what a privilege it is to be a part of it, moving into how important getting support from staff, students, administrators and the community is and some of my goals for next year. This piece was sentimental for me to write and my favorite that I have written, because I was so passionate about it and was truly able to express myself to everyone, which is one of my favorite things about journalism.
Feature Writing--
Turning the page: The similarities and differences in school policy over the years
I am proud of this story because it is well-written and extremely well-sourced. We had information and quotes from six sources who graduated in different years and had different perspectives; four of the sources currently teach at South. This helped develop a solid story about a rather controversial topic--- how people feel about South's policy, especially recently-- because it was unbiased and helped the reader see all points of view. Due to the vast amount of information, there were many angles we could have taken, so it was hard to hone in on what was important, but in the end we chose main policy changes to focus on to help organize it. This story helped me grow as a writer and interviewer, taught me how to work with others better (this is the first story this year I have double bylined), and taught me how to plan and choose an angle when it is not obvious.
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Feature Writing--
Brownell Beat Bites the Dust:
The award-winning Brownell Beat merges with broadcast journalism due to low enrollment
The topic of this story was something I am extremely passionate about, so being able to write it and disclose the in-depth story of what was happening with the Brownell journalism program was important to me, because I grew to love journalism through this program. The hardest thing about writing this story for me was keeping it unbiased. I loved Brownell journalism, and when I went to the classroom now and saw the way the class was run, when I saw the way there were three kids in a tiny room with three computers, with a teacher who knew nothing about journalism, I was heartbroken and scared for the future of journalism at Brownell. However, this story helped me grow as a journalist by forcing me to fairly report on the facts and represent all viewpoints. I contacted a wide variety of sources and had an interview with the previous journalism teacher at Brownell who had to find another job because of the program's low enrollment which was emotional for me.
Opinion Writing--
Building student journalists brick by brick​
I wrote this editorial with another one of my editors, and it is special because it was the first time I had written an opinion piece with someone else, but we were able to mesh our writing styles and opinions to make a much stronger piece than we would have if we were writing alone. We bounced ideas off of one another which gave us the analogy of building our publication and each student journalist "brick by brick", which carried through the entire editorial. We referenced how the Brownell journalism program had brought many of our top editors to The Tower and how important journalism is at every age, so this story is one that was personal for me and something the community, administration and student body needed to hear.
Opinion Writing--
Building student journalists brick by brick​
This column was close to my heart and I am thankful I got the chance to express myself about it. My experience with journalism in Brownell and the teacher I had, who had to leave when the program downsized and merged with broadcast, is what got me to where I am today, and was one of my favorite parts of middle school, that I think everyone should be able to have. So being able to express this and share my opinion on this subject that I was so passionate about was a privilege for me, and something I wanted other people to know about. I am proud I was able to defend and talk about how beneficial the program was for me-- it brought me to MIPA conferences and led me to MIPA awards and gave me journalism experience that has helped me throughout my life.
Feature Writing--
Homecoming breakdown: 2017
This piece took the traditional news story about what is happening during homecoming season and dug deeper into what Student Council and Student Association did respectively to prepare for this season. I looked into what the adviser, presidents and committees of each did, the differences between what Student Council and SA were in charge of, etc. I am proud of this piece because of the unique angle I came up with and how it informed the school of information not everyone is familiar with or would be able to discover without looking into it.
