Writer of the Year
IHSPA 2026 spring contest entry
Below is a selection of five articles I have authored from March 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026.
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See more about my writing and my process here.
Published Sept. 30 on wsspaper.com
I decided to cover this protest in the middle of a therapy appointment. Usually when WSS covers protests, we plan out who was going ahead of time, but this particular rally occurred a day after a man, Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa, had been violently apprehended by ICE at a local restaurant.
When I arrived in downtown Iowa City, I stood toward the front of a crowd of hundreds of people as we all listened to the people close to Ochoa, representatives and local faith leaders speak. I had all the speeches recorded on my phone, so I used quotes throughout my story along with in my photo captions.
After the rally was over, I spoke to three community members. Two were a couple whose kids happened to be West High alums. One of them volunteered at the local food pantry, and spoke about how her experience helping the immigrant population had influenced her. I then spoke to Katy Brown, who is the owner of a local cat lounge. She told me about the anger she was feeling, and how she navigates being a business owner while also standing up for her beliefs.
Shortly after this happened, Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by ICE, gathering national attention. I included this at the end of my story, showing how ICE’s actions in Iowa had been increasing.
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This story won a Best of SNO and was featured as an IHSPA Story of the Month.
Published Nov. 7 on wsspaper.com
I decided to write this story after I saw an Instagram post from the New York Times saying that the Trump Administration would not be distributing SNAP benefits after Nov. 1. I wanted to know how this would impact the people in my community, so I talked to the director of a local food bank to see not only how it would affect people who rely on those benefits, but the organizations that help them.
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John Boller, the director of the Coralville Community Food Pantry, told me that they had seen some of their busiest days after the administration’s ruling. He told me about how food pantries are intended to be supplemental, not one’s main source of acquiring food.
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I also spoke to one of Iowa City’s representatives, who expressed disappointment in both the federal government, and in the state attorney general who did not sign onto a lawsuit suing the administration.
For this story, I also utilized SNO’s live coverage feature two publish two updates: one for when the Supreme Court ruled the administration could lawfully block benefits, and one for when the shutdown ended and benefits started to roll out.
This story won a Best of SNO.
Published on wsspaper.com and in WSS print's March 6 edition.
I wrote this opinion column for West Side Story’s print edition in March. I had thought about talking about the lack of quality representation in the media for a while, but I decided it was something I needed to write after one of my favorite shows was getting canceled.
I remember when “She Ra and the Princess of Power” came out. It was the first time I saw queer representation in a main character. The show had such vibrant diversity and a complex storyline but despite its success it was taken off Netflix eight years after its release.
I’ve rarely seen shows with better diversity than what I saw on She Ra. So much of media represents queer people as stereotypes and some of the best shows get cancelled after public backlash.
Published Dec. 19 on wsspaper.com
As the staffer assigned to the girls wrestling beat, I covered multiple meets throughout the season. My favorite was a special event hosted at a local arena where local high school teams wrestled before the Ukrainian and American teams competed in a “friendly.”
I’ve grown up around wrestling and have always been interested in it, so it was an amazing experience to be right next to the mat where Olympians were wrestling. As a part of my coverage, I took photos of the event, then conducted interviews. I spoke with one of the wrestlers on the team, an organizer from the Hawkeye Women's Wrestling Club and Terry Steiner, the Team USA head coach.
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I started typing up the story when I got home, and published it two days later.
Published May 29 on wsspaper.com
The WSS makes a habit of trying to cover every faculty retirement in an annual series called “faculty farewell.” There were six teachers retiring and I profiled two: Steve Merkle and Becky Dagle.
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Steve Merkle was a Strat II special education teacher who
(was super involved, did a lot) for special education students at West High. After 27 years filling a variety of jobs, he made the decision to retire. During our interview, we spoke about how he ended up in special education.
One of Merkle’s favorite events is the Community Music talent show, where special education students get to show off their talents. One of our photographers had covered the event, so I got to include pictures of it in his story. Outside of his work at West, I learned that he was a talented carpenter and loved spending time outside.
Merkle made a significant impact on the West High community. I spoke with one of his colleagues, J.P. Claussen, who told me about how important he was to the West High community.