Portfolio
JOURNALISM
REPORTING
Live from the Alison B. Parker Studio, BreezeTV is JMU's student-run weekly newscast.
I work as an Anchor, Managing Editor, Senior Reporter and Producer. Each week I video, edit news packages, lead a team of reporters and produce the show. Although BreezeTV doesn't assign beats, I love covering local businesses, agriculture and politics. Embedded below are a few of the stories I've recently worked on, my reel and some full shows I've anchored. Visit the Breeze Facebook page for more content and full-length newscasts.
PRODUCING
As Communications Director of JMU's Student Government, I was challenged to creatively strategize ways that the student body could still feel a part of our events during a virtual year. One of our biggest annual events, Dukes Debate, brings together representatives from each political organization on campus to debate candidate platforms from the current election year. During a presidential election year, I executive produced the first live-streamed Dukes Debate. My decision to move to a virtual live-stream event on Facebook increased our engagement with the event by 82%.
MULTIMEDIA & DATA VISUALIZATION
Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk
Got milk? These dairy farms in the Shenandoah Valley sure do, a massive surplus of it. Dairy farms in Rockingham County make up almost a third of Virginia’s dairy production, and they are struggling to stay in business. Over half of the area’s dairy farms have shuttered in the last decade, but a little over 200 still operate with sales in the 853 square miles of land. Who or what is to blame for the decline in this industry? Furthermore, are there any solutions to these issues?
Like many people born in Generation Z, I remember watching “Kim Possible” reruns through blurry eyes at 2 a.m. and fuming when my parents wouldn’t let me watch Hannah Montana because “she’s disrespectful to her dad.” Nevertheless, when Disney+ launched on Nov. 12, I was skeptical about if I was willing to pay $6.99 to relive the past...
Freshman year, my suitemates and I would religiously order Mr. J’s to our dorm every Sunday morning. Since freshmen aren’t allowed to have cars on campus, JoyRun was our go-to food delivery app. It made the boundaries of campus seem to shrink, as our comfort foods from Chipotle and Taco Bell were easily attainable. Even though the food ended up being more expensive, it was a small price to pay for when we were sick of D-Hub’s buffalo mash...
“I want you to give me 45 minutes of yes,” the instructor exclaims as the lights in the Soulcycle studio dim down. About 15 minutes later, with sweat streaming down my face, I’m debating if taking the spin class in the name of research was worth the leg cramps.
The instructor jumps off his bike and begins to walk around the room, so I bump up the resistance to make it look like I have the energy to pedal harder than I actually am. Looking around at the sea of riders clad in Lululemon, I try to notice if the normal class of 60 is any less full after the Twitter campaign to boycott the company...
THE URBINO PROJECT
During the summer of 2019, I studied abroad in Urbino, Italy. I created multimedia content for Cau & Spada, a sheep farm known across Italy for its special cheese. I was awarded Best Text Story and Best Multimedia Package by my professors. Click below to view the entire Urbino Project website, and watch my partner Liza and I's video on Cau & Spada.
THE CHEESE OF LOVERS
Emilio Spada shares his passion for cheesemaking
SASSOCORVARO, Italy – He dips his left hand into the vat of white liquid and brings it up to let the small chunks drip down and bounce against his right. The light coming in from the warehouse windows illuminates the line of scientific symbols tattooed around his arm.
“It’s the chemical process of the sheep’s milk forming to the cheese,” Emilio Spada explains. “It’s like a marriage, two halves coming together and by the end they are completely united, and the love story is complete.”
FEATURE STORIES
