Clip Portfolio
Federal News Network
During Summer 2022 I was an editorial intern at Federal News Network. I had the opportunity to work across multiple desks writing stories and scripts for our websites and radio shows. I ran our social media accounts to reach a wider audience and helped produce our morning show, The Federal Drive with Tom Temin, finding new and interesting guests to come speak for our audiences.
The Diamondback
Throughout my time at the University of Maryland, I have published clips in The Diamondback, our independent, student-run campus newspaper. Although I am a beat writer covering the University Senate, I have the opportunity to cover a wide range of other topics as well. Here is a selection of my Diamondback clips.
Sean Urbanski, who stabbed Lt. Richard Collins III at UMD, seeks new trial
I wrote this breaking news story in response to Urbanski appealing his conviction. Although this was my first article on the topic, The Diamondback has been following this story since the beginning.
UMD to offer flu shots starting this week
After talking with Dr. Sandra Quinn, I realize how important this story was going to be. Although the Univeristy of Maryland has a 98% COVID-19 vaccination rate, officials were concered with students not getting the flu shot. I wanted to provide students with all the information they needed to make a decision about whether they should get the flu shot and when and where it's available.
Pines calls response to Guilford Woods development “emotional,” “political” issue
My University Senate articles are due one hour after the meeting is ended. Because writing on deadline is relatively new to me, I've started practicing my pre-reporting for the articles. On this article, I was prepared to write about the provost's update. When President Pines answered a question on a controversial topic, I knew the subject of the article had to pivot. This article was truly written within the hour, from researching the background to sending the article to the copy desk.
A year after Original Ledo Restaurant closed, a new Ledo franchise is open in College Park
When Ledo Pizza returned to College Park one year after another location closed, our audience had questions. Throughout this article I learned about the difference between a franchise and a privately owned store in order explain it to my audience.
Proposal in University Senate seeks to change UMD’s mental health excused absence policy
Although the University Senate is the one of the largest and most influential governing bodies on campus, many student's are unaware of the day to day work the senate conducts. Talking to students around campus, I realized many had no idea about policies that relate to them or possible policies that could affect them in the future. After speaking with the writers of the proposal and students who lead campus mental health organizations, I wrote an article that created conversation around campus questioning current policies.
Green Tidings food truck won’t return to UMD this semester due to staffing shortages
I particularly like this article because Green Tidings is a fixture on campus. The article allowed me to get out into the community and talk with students from all different majors about how Green Tidings gave them a place to gather and make memories with their friends in addition to feeding them. This article also had a bureaucratic point of view with interviews from UMD's dining services and the Chef Schraa.
Seeing stripes? Five zebras are on the loose in Prince George’s County
I enjoyed writing this blog because it had a wow factor. When it went on our webpage people were shocked. For this blog I got in touch with the chief of the Prince George's County Animal Services Division to discuss what was being done to caputure the zebras. In addition, I reached out to professors within the Animal Science Department to understand more about zebra's behaviors.
First Look Fair rescheduled to Sept. 29 due to forecasted rain
This was my first breaking news story. I was expecially excited because I got the source at the Student Organization Resource Center to speak to me even though they were hesantant.
Here’s how Hurricane Ida is expected to impact College Park
This was my first weather related article. I wrote it as a breaking news piece because the university had issued an emergency weather alert. It was my first time calling NOAA and finding the right source within the agency.
Patch
I first started writing at Patch while I was a copy editing intern through the Dow Jones News Fund's Summer 2021 internship class. Upon completion of my internship, I was hired as a freelance writer. Here are a selection of my published clips.
Restaurateur Fights Food Insecurity One Refrigerator At A Time
I talked with local restaurateur Mark Bucher over the course of a few months to talk about his new nonprofit Feed the Fridge. I interviewed Sandra Basanti to get her perspective as a contributing restaurant and got comments from local councilmember Hans Riemer. In addition, I visited a local refrigerator to take photographs. I was very excited by the overwhelming response this article received, especially on Twitter.
U.S. Troops Leaving Afghanistan: 5 Things To Know
During my Patch internship I wrote articles about "5 Things To Know" on specific topics. This piece was about Afghanistan, a topic needed to spend time copious amounts of time researching. The piece is about how the United States is structuring their withdrawal from Afghanistan, a little bit of background into the war, explaining what troops are still in Afghanistan and possibilities that could occur once American troops are gone. I focused on making a complicated topic, that spanned almost 20 years, understandable and concise. One of the things I am most proud of in this article is the lead image. My boss told me to sett1le for a basic creative stock image, but I fell in love with this photo and went out of my way to call government agencies to get the proper usage rights, which I believe was worthwhile.
Dear Intern: How A Mistake Turned Into A Heartfelt Twitter Trend
While I was searching for my latest 5 Things To Know topic, I came across Dear Intern trending on Twitter. I loved reading through the Tweets about mistakes people made in their jobs or as an intern themselves and I thought it would be a lighthearted story for others to read as well. I was excited because my goal for the day was to find a story somewhere other than the AP Newswire. For this story I focused on using as many alternative story forms so I embedded tweets.
Aduhelm, The New Alzheimer's Drug: 5 Things to Know
For my first Patch piece I was assigned to find and write an aggregated article based on a topic that was in the news and our readers would benefit from more clarity. This was my first aggregated piece and required a lot of research to make sure I understood what I needed to write about. I focused on finding reputable sources and made sure the topic was accessible to the average reader who had no idea about Alzheimer's and the FDA's approval process.
Girl Scouts Cookie Surplus: 5 Things To Know About The Glut
Another story about the Girl Scout cookie surplus left me with questions, so for my third aggregation I tried to answer as many questions our readers may have as concisely and organized as possible. I didn't want to make it another 1,100 word article because 5 Things to Know are supposed to be brief and informative. I also practiced writing this story on a deadline.
Shots Fired In College Park: Police Report
This was my first story in over a month because I stopped writing and focused on editing full-time. I found this story on my own, wrote it up quickly as a breaking news release and sent it to my editor. The story wasn't required of me, and I wrote it well after hours, but I thought the people needed to know. On Saturday morning I called the Prince George's County Police Department to follow up. It was my first time asking for a police report. I later updated the story with more information when it came in.
