Emerging Journalist Portfolio
This is my portfolio for the 2025 IHSPA Emerging Journalist Contest.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my work.
50 years of good times
Photo Story
This being my first year with West Side Story, I didn’t expect to take on an editorial role. However, when I was named print photo editor a little over a year ago, I was excited to step into leadership. After COVID-19, the number of photos in print had dropped due to fewer in-person interactions, so I made it my goal to provide as many photos as possible. This sparked increased interest in photography among other staffers, and our adviser, Ms. Whittaker, even scheduled a meeting with our printers to ensure the best photo quality in our print issues. For this story, writers Carter Birch Houchins-Witt and Maddy Cook explored our show choirs' evolution for their 50th anniversary. To support them, I spoke with the show choir members, learned the routine, and photographed their performance. This photo story highlights our progress, as our designer, Anna Song, blended photos from past Trojan Epic yearbooks with my recent shots, symbolizing the gap we’ve bridged as a publication.
Click here for the web version.
The digital classroom
Feature Story
After adapting to the responsibilities of my editorial position, I wrote my first feature for print alongside Jake Beneke and Carter Birch Houchins-Witt. For this article, I was responsible for interviewing sources — at the time, something out of my comfort zone. However, it was crucial to the story to search for our community's opinion on technology in the classroom. So, through interviewing three sources, I became a stronger and more confident interviewer. Paired with Ahmed Ibrahim's rich multimedia and design, Carter's research and Jake's writing, we created an in-depth, award-winning story, earning Best of SNO and IHSPA's December Story of the Month.
Click here for the web version.
Photo Features
News Magazine - One Page Designs
If you ask a West High student who isn’t an avid reader about a standout feature of the West Side Story, many will mention the photo features. These full-page spreads highlight one of our journalists' best photos with a detailed caption, often telling a story. As print photo editor, designing two of these spreads per issue to ensure we have diverse, engaging coverage in each issue became one of my responsibilities. At first, it was one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the job, as I had to learn to edit, design, convert to CMYK and export with minimal guidance. However, as I grew more confident, I used these spreads to showcase our photographers’ work, featuring a different staffer for each spread so far this year. This has become one of my favorite parts of photojournalism, as it allows me to highlight aspects of my school and community.
Nov. 15 Issue
Jan. 17 Issue
Feb. 28 Issue
