Indiana Daily Student adviser’s firing sparks legal fight, faculty rebuke, new IU task force

Oct. 26, 2025

This article covered Indiana University’s incident with the Indiana Daily Student in October: the university’s questionable demand, the student media director’s termination, and the cut to all print newspapers.

I interviewed the fired student media director, a co-editor-in-chief of the paper, and retired faculty. I also included important context, including the a student media plan that was barely a year old, the dollars and deficits faced by the organization, and student media at universities and colleges nationwide. My article also broke the news that the fired director planned to sue the university for wrongful termination.

I proposed covering this topic to my editor because I felt like a stakeholder of sorts. I’m also in a position where my work could be censored. I am applying to colleges, including IU. As I told a fellow student reporter in Oregon interviewed me for an opinion piece he wrote on the topic, this hyperlocal event paralleled many others like it around the U.S., and its impacts are sure to affect me.

‘This is what a community should be’: My Sister’s Closet event features local art, collective spirit, women’s voices

June 26, 2025

The event I covered in this article was a ribbon cutting for the relocation of My Sister’s Closet, a non-profit secondhand women’s clothing store. The program included the unveiling of a local artist’s rendition of the Statue of Liberty that celebrates the 19th Amendment, and remarks from the mayor and other community members.

The challenge I faced writing this was synthesizing the various ideas involved and structuring them together in a cohesive way. Weaving photographs in throughout the text and controlling the pacing and length of the piece were considerations, too. I think I effectively communicated the important info, with appropriate anecdotes, to readers.

North, South high school teachers and staff to wear panic buttons in coming school year

July 23, 2025

Over the summer, when I was at school for an extracurricular meeting, I saw unfamiliar hardware with the CENTEGIX company name around the school. Curious, I looked it up—these were devices for a panic button system. I found the school board’s contract with the company, for two high schools in our district, and immediately reached out to the district media contact. There were obvious questions: What will this system do? When will it go live? Is this contract a response to an incident? How will staff be trained?

The district only gave me vague answers—they said to look at the contract, and that the implementation is proactive and not reactive. But I still didn’t understand how the panic buttons actually worked. So, I reached out to CENTEGIX itself, and connected with the school’s sales representative, who was more than happy to share details of the product’s capabilities with me.

My story broke the news about this new system. When the fall semester started, many teachers told me they first learned of it from my article. Two other local news outlets picked up my story.

Pushing Boundaries: New class broadens perspectives

Fall 2023; printed in 2024 Nikean Yearbook

Our school piloted the new AP African American Studies course in the 2023-2024 school year. The class faced some criticism from politicians and commentators around the country. I interviewed the teacher, and our principal, who were both extremely proud to have the course offered at their school. Students enjoyed the course both in content and structure, which includes a research project and presentation as part of the AP exam grade.

Local artists to showcase paintings, photography, and music at monthly Gallery Walk

July 31, 2025

This piece previewed three exhibits that were scheduled for one of Bloomington’s monthly Gallery Walks. One was a surrealist photographer who juxtaposes historical and modern elements of U.S. culture in her work. Another featured artwork by clients of Stone Belt, Bloomington’s disability services and employment organization. The last was a painter whose works featured a woman with a cat. She found that her own cat supported and comforted her when she went through treatment for breast cancer.

I visited with each of the exhibitors before the Gallery Walk to interview and photograph for this piece. It was fascinating to get to explore the worlds of these artists for the hour I had with each of them. The painter invited me to her home and trusted me with the story of her illness and recovery. The photographer patiently answered my personal, technical, and artistic questions. Stone Belt employees and clients took time out of their schedules to show me around. This simple feature of artwork made me feel more connected to my community, and reminded me why I love journalism.