"I got involved with story telling because I want to bring attention to injustice and amplify the voices of those who are not being heard."
Hometown: Cody, Wyoming
PBS Mentor Station: Wyoming PBS
Six-word Memoir: Truth and Art will always coexist.
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I got involved with story telling because I want to bring attention to injustice and amplify the voices of those who are not being heard. In addition to bringing a voice to others, I want to provide an additional source of accurate and truthful reporting to anyone who may listen, because right now, we have a surplus of harmful misinformation. This can only lead us to corruption, chaos, and yes- more injustice.
What story are you most proud of?
I’m probably most proud of the story I did with Mason Baum last year (2018-2019) on a Gay Straight Alliance implemented at Cody High School. It was one of the first meaningful stories I did that I really felt I’d contributed well to, and I think it did a lot for the school community in terms of dispelling any misinformation on what it meant to have a GSA.
How can youth media change the world?
To inform the world, we must take every platform at our disposal by the horns. It’s an amazing time to build a social media following and create a platform for your (accurate and informed!!!) reporting. Not only does our generation have an interesting perspective on the pandemic, we have the technological skill and prowess to produce impactful news by whatever creative means we have available to us. We each have a niche within student reporting, and we’ll be stronger together in our efforts to inform the world around us of we can collaborate as such, especially with tools like Zoom and Snapchat at our disposal for coordination.
Who is your role model?
I can’t pick one, but I can narrow it down to 3 (okay, 4). In my Student Journalism career, it’s been Erika Quick (my adviser) and Alicia Kain (who took me in and showed me the drill in my first year of CHS Wired). They’ve both helped me immensely and served models I work to align myself with as I work to take on more leadership within CHS Wired. In my general life, I really idolize both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They’re both politically headstrong (and generally strong!) women who don’t back down under pressure or criticism. They persevere. They stand up for what is right and they have compassion. If I aspire to be like anybody, I aspire to be like them.
