Reporting & Writing
When I first filled out my high school schedule in 8th grade, Honors Journalism was the class I was most excited about. Having created fake fashion magazines as a child, I knew I would enjoy writing articles for our school newspaper. Although my writing skills were a bit rusty as a freshman, North Pointe provided me with the opportunity to grow and develop my writing abilities, while also expanding my understanding of current events and impactful storytelling.
"Little Bit Closer" to US fame
April 2025
As my final regular story for North Pointe, I knew I wanted to write one of my favorites—and one of the staff’s favorites, too- a review. At first, nothing new coming out sparked my interest, but then I remembered I had a Sam Fender concert coming up and would be traveling for a week. That’s when I decided to do a concert and album review of Sam Fender’s "People Watching" and his European Tour. Writing this piece felt incredibly natural and fun. I loved putting into words how powerful the album was and how unforgettable the live performance felt. I’m really proud of how this story turned out—it was the perfect way to wrap up my time at North Pointe.​
Tracking down public transportation
FEBRUARY 2025
My favorite stories to write are about issues facing Detroit. After seeing repeated reports about public transit safety concerns in New York City, I realized we needed to connect those concerns to the challenges in other cities—especially Detroit, which I had previously researched for a school paper. To tell the story in a fresh way, we took a case study approach, focusing on Detroit, NYC and Chicago. We interviewed people from each city to hear their personal experiences with transit. What I loved most about this story was how it turned a topic many find boring into something engaging and relevant. Public transit is often overlooked, but it impacts so many lives. Through this piece, I hoped to bring more awareness to a critical issue in our community.
Style with sustainability
January 2025
To elevate our editorial section and break away from a formulaic look, I incorporated an Alternative Story Form for my piece on shopping sustainably and building a timeless wardrobe. Since fashion is a topic I’m both passionate and knowledgeable about, this story was especially enjoyable to write. It also gave me the chance to experiment with new ways of presenting information while reinforcing my aspirations for a future in fashion journalism.
'Tis the season
December 2024
One of the most enjoyable stories I’ve worked on was a review of Detroit’s holiday markets. Collaborating with my mentee on this story allowed me to see her creativity shine throughout the process. Together, we decided to take a risk by using an Alternative Story Form, featuring a map to guide readers—something we had never tried before. Although this approach was a challenge, I believe it paid off, resulting in a visually engaging and unique story that resonated with our readership.
My mentee and i at the holiday markets
Checking out the new independent reading policy
October 2024
For my first story of the new school year, I was eager to reconnect with members of my community. After researching individuals in Detroit advocating for reading resources, I secured an interview with the executive director of We Shall Read. This interview became my favorite part of the entire story, as it allowed me to not only understand her perspective on Grosse Pointe North’s initiative to encourage reading, but also to gain insight into the struggles faced by many in the local community who lack access to such resources. Her powerful quotes, along with those from other interviews, helped convey a strong message about the school’s new independent reading policy.
Preserving this house
June 2024
Though this story was a last minute pitch, I found it crucial to report on the abrupt resignation of four North administrators. Within 24 hours of the announcement that our principal and assistant principals would be leaving alongside our athletic director and vice principal, a fellow editor and myself took action and began reaching out for interviews with our principal and student leaders. Despite the fact that the news was sudden and our principal’s willingness to partake in an interview was unknown, we were able to create a connection with her over the years that allowed her to agree to an interview. Writing this story gave me a sense of purpose to release this news to the public and honor the legacy created by our admin. By connecting with various sources, creating informative questions, and collaboratively writing a breaking news story with such short notice, I am very proud of the article we were able to put out.
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Drafting Detroit Pride
May 2024
When I first started writing this story, I had no idea who to reach out to as an expert source to discuss Detroit's NFL Draft. After sending six separate emails, the only individual who responded and agreed to an interview was the Deputy Director of the Detroit Sports Commission. Despite the brief 15-minute interview, he provided some of the best responses I’ve ever received. Additionally, he shared his experience writing for his high school newspaper, which added a personal touch to our story. His insightful quotes, combined with his firsthand experience preparing for the Draft, helped our story provide a unique perspective on the immense work involved in hosting the event and how it fosters Detroit pride.
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Me taking the story's photo on alter road
Unsafe stigma remains for Detroit
February 2024
One of my favorite things to talk about is the disparities between the city of Detroit and my hometown of Grosse Pointe. When I first heard about the drop in the city’s homicide rate in my Sociology class, I knew it would make for an eye-opening story in our publication. However, instead of focusing solely on the decreasing homicide rate, I wanted to shed light on despite the fact that the city is the safest it’s been since before the 1967 rebellion, it still has a connotation of being unsafe. While I was interviewing sources, not only was I able to retrieve impactful quotes for our story, but I was also able to gain a holistic perspective on the prejudices people hold against individuals from Detroit and the city itself. Overall, this story has been the most impactful to me as a writer and it has allowed me to report on a topic that I find very pressing and important for the Grosse Pointe community and individuals residing outside of Detroit.
Our Turn: Technology is invading student life
January 2024
One of my favorite sections to write in the newspaper has to be the editorial section. With an ability to candidly discuss topics I feel strongly about, I feel a stronger sense of purpose in my writing. When we approached this piece, we wanted to magnify the unnecessary technology throughout the school day and its detrimental impacts on our obsession with digital devices. However, this message didn't explicitly come across in our first drafts of the story. After receiving some beneficial feedback from my advisor, we were quickly able to create a clear argument for our position by simply adjusting the order of the scenarios presented. As I worked on this story, I was not only able to learn how to develop a sense of relatability in my tone, but I was also able to learn that with a few small adjustments, the message of a story can completely shift.
District searches for new superintendent after Dr. Jon Dean retires
October 2023
After learning different tips and tricks in order to create captivating leads in the previous school year, I felt that this piece was the perfect article to showcase my writing growth since the previous school year. While writing about school board affairs might not be the most interesting topic to write about, I actually found it fascinating to have conversations with individuals in the central office about our district. After initially having difficulty with finding both our expert and staff sources, my partners on this story worked rigorously to find informed individuals to interview. Through this piece, I was not only able to improve my interviewing skills, as I spoke to individuals in high district roles, but I was also able to formulate a concise set of intriguing questions. In the future I hope to be able to continue writing intriguing leads that add a human element to a certain topic that we write about.
Adolescent health clinic postponed
March 2023
While there were a few difficulties in this piece, I am really proud of the outcome of it. After initially signing up for this story I was aware of the roadblocks that I would encounter because of the controversy surrounding the topic of the health clinic. Despite the difficulty in finding sources that were willing to speak on the subject, I felt that we had very strong interviews and quotes, which really helped to humanize the story. Through this story I was able to not only learn how to conduct better interviews and feel more comfortable around those in authority, but I was also able to learn how to better collaborate with the other writers on the story even if we communicated virtually.
Dating through the decades
February 2022
I loved the concept behind this story, as it allowed us to highlight the different relationships within our school community. While there were many positive aspects of the story, it also had its flaws. Despite all of our sources providing detailed responses that helped the story flow smoothly, we fell short in terms of diversity. After reading critiques of our paper, I noticed a comment that highlighted our lack of diversity in sources. Specifically, it pointed out that we only interviewed white, heterosexual couples. Upon reflection, I completely agree with this critique. Including a same-sex couple would have added a much more compelling angle, especially by exploring how societal acceptance of homosexuality has evolved from the 60s and 70s to today. This feedback taught me the importance of considering the diversity of sources, ensuring that our stories are more inclusive and representative.
Onward and upward
January 2022
This story marked the first time I truly grasped journalistic writing. I was partnered with one of my best friends, and our strong communication was crucial to producing a quality final product. I interviewed the Vice Principal, Mrs. Vernier, who provided us with valuable information that led us to approach the story from a different angle. This interview not only shaped our story but also helped me feel more confident in future interviews. I’m proud of how much I contributed to the story—whether it was leaving comments, transcribing interviews, designing artwork or writing paragraphs. It was rewarding to see my ideas reflected in the final piece. Although the story evolved multiple times, our effective time management and teamwork ultimately paid off.
