Experience
Aug. 2019 - present
Graduate Reporting Fellow | Washington, D.C.
I am working to grow people-first reporting skills and hold power to account by demonstrating its effects on real characters. I also manage a portion of the nonprofit newsroom's social media accounts, newsletters and regularly update standing immigration features on the website.
Aug. 2019 - present
Practicum Student | Washington, D.C.
I work alongside Pulitzer Prize finalist investigative reporter Jenn Abelson at The Washington Post on a long-term investigation. My work currently consists of data entry and analysis as well as regular communication with a nationwide set of sources.
Jan. 2018 - July 2019
City Government Reporter | Owensboro, Ky.
Journalism, in essence, is still a form of storytelling, and reporting on how the collective, or government, affects daily lives should illustrate their stories in detail. Municipal governments in particular, are where services are delivered at the most personal level, and in Owensboro, Kentucky (pop. 70,000), I detail those stories every day.
Jan. 2017 - Dec. 2017
County Government Reporter | Owensboro, Ky.
Employing a keen eye for detail, I monitored government and policy for Daviess County, Kentucky, (pop. 100,000). My coverage helped readers make informed decisions about public officials and gave them an accurate picture of how their tax dollars are spent.
May 2016 - Jan. 2017
Health Reporter | Owensboro, Ky.
In a community coming to bitter terms with prolonged public health concerns, I explored the lives of patients alongside the men and women who cared for them, an evolving insurance future and one of the state's largest health systems.
June 2015 - May 2016
Editor | Calhoun, Ky.
I managed a weekly community newspaper situated in the heart of western Kentucky coal country. My daily responsibilities ranged from reporting, photographing and editing impactful people-oriented stories to representing the paper at meetings and events.
Oct. 2013 - June 2015
Reporter / Staff Photographer | Murray, Ky.
In addition to education, business and special sections, my beats included breaking news and enterprise stories. I developed and followed news stories from the ground up, providing art for features, contributing to and designing special sections, as well as designing and pre-flighting the daily newspaper.
May 2013 - Oct. 2013
Reporter | Murray, Ky.
I was responsible for following local and statewide beats at the western Kentucky National Public Radio affiliate. My radio shorts and feature stories were distributed statewide through the Kentucky Public Radio Exchange. I contributed to nationally award-winning documentaries.
April 2012 - May 2013
Editor-in-Chief | Murray, Ky.
Together with a staff of desk editors, I led a student-run college newspaper operating solely on advertising. We issued a weekly newspaper and updated content daily via thenews.org and our social networking sites. I was responsible for the entirety of daily and weekly editorial content and oversaw newsroom staff.
Education
July 2019 - June 2020 | Washington, D.C.
While managing a graduate fellowship and internship, I earned a master's degree in investigative reporting from the top-ranked American University School of Communication. I took care to organize my studies around source development and long-form writing under Pulitzer Prize–winning reporters like Chuck Lewis and John Sullivan, as well as data journalism and coding under Jennifer Lafleur, formerly of ProPublica. I also served as president of AU's School of Communication Graduate Student Council and maintained a position on the School of Communication Dean Search Committee, a position I was appointed to by AU President and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. GPA: 4.0.
Aug. 2010 - May 2015 | Murray, Ky.
At times managing three part-time jobs on top of a full-time class schedule, I studied journalism, political science, photography, geosciences and public land management at Murray State. I was
elected an honorary member of the Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Society, and maintained active membership in Alpha Lambda Delta and Sigma Alpha Lambda national honors societies and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. I was a Dean’s List scholar every semester in college and graduated Magna Cum Laude. GPA: 3.8.
Aug. 2006 - May 2010 | Murray, Ky.
Graduating with honors, I was a nationally competitive member of the speech, debate and student congress teams as well as drama club. In addition, I was a staff member and editor at the
Laker Review student newspaper. I was also elected to participate in the Leadership Tomorrow student development institution; the Kentucky Youth Assembly and the National Youth Assembly. I
competed two years in track and cross-country, and received regional recognition in both sports. GPA: 3.9.
Skills
Local, state and national reporting
Associated Press–style editing
Elegant writing
Fact-checking
Print and HTML & CSS design
Audio & video editing
Photojournalism
Data journalism
Awards
Distinctions
2011–12 — Delegate at the American Society of News Design
2012 — Delegate at the Mid-America Press Institute Annual Conference
2013 — Delegate at the University of Miami Annual Collegiate Journalism Workshop
2014–15 — Delegate at the National College Media Convention
2016 — Delegate at the Kentucky Health News Conference
2020 — Delegate at the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference
2017–present — Member of Investigative Reporters & Editors
2019–20 — President of the American University School of Communication Graduate Student Council (also briefly vice president)
2020–present — Member of the American Water Works Association
2020 — American University graduate student commencement speaker (’20).
Ledger & Times —
Kentucky Press Association best overall awards in overall special section design and writing.
WKMS-FM — Kentucky Associated Press first-place award in feature writing.
The Murray State News — Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association awards in analytical reporting, investigative reporting, general news writing, agribusiness writing and photojournalism; Kentucky Press Association awards in agribusiness writing, general news writing and business writing.
IRW — Third place, Yale University Environment-360 film awards (video contributor and lead reporter).
