Portfolio
Example 1
Multimedia
After attending multiple Ann Arbor Public School Board meetings and talking to people who were in attendance, I found out about a local group looking to help fix funding for local education: Invest in MI Kids. I went to one of their community events where I watched parents, teachers, politicians and community members' presentations. I was actively listening to their anecdotes and typing to get the most information possible and taking pictures during breaks or when there was a brainstorming activity that allowed people to move around the room. I learned about poor treatments for students with disabilities and how the lack of funding deeply impacts them. The poor funding impacts the way teachers go into their school days. I made an interactive graphic, took photos for the writing and added links to other places where my readers could go and learn more about the topic. I am proud of this because I think people should know the truth about the inequities about funding for public education. I think this was great to learn about because my teachers and other students matter and I want to learn more. I earned a Best of SNO award for this piece along with second place News Story award from MIPA. If there was anything I could do better, it would be to take more pictures and get more interviews.
My high school adviser Satvika was showing me how to create interactive photos and put them into my article.
Example 2
Yearbook Spread
I chose to create this spread because it showcases my ability to collect data. When my adviser suggested I work on a feature page for the yearbook, I thought this would be a cool idea to make. I thought it was a good idea because I think it's awesome to have a page in the yearbook about all of the cool things that were in trend for the year. When you look back when you're an adult, you will laugh and think those things were so silly, bringing back memories. So, I made a Google Form for people to fill out online and put the results on the page. I'm proud that I was able to make a survey that people got to use. This was my first yearbook spread and I was able to successfully do this: from counting up answers, to taking photos of the winning trends, to designing the page. If I could do something different, I would have added interviews from people to have on the page. I was able to do it by the deadline, and I was proud when I saw my name saying that I created a page in the yearbook. I earned an honorable mention for Alternative Story Format from MIPA for this spread.
I was adding up votes with my fellow staff member (Maya) and then creating a potential layout like a cut and paste mock-up.
Example 3
Photography
This example showcases my news photography. My newspaper program has mentors that come from our local high school to help us. My adviser asked if I wanted to go to the district board meeting with one of the high school mentors. Before this particular meeting, there was a picket and I was most surprised by the chanting and number of teachers I knew. When it comes to photography, I learned that action pictures are much harder to take than non-moving posed photos. In the future, I would like to get closer or get a different lens to fill the frame with faces that show emotions. I made sure to move around a lot and quickly learned that I have to be active when taking photos. I became very interested in school board politics after listening to the first picket, and all of the chants just surprised me during the meeting. Every meeting I went to, I got to hear more people and learn more about the problems. I earned a second place Photo Story award for this piece from MIPA.
This is me taking pictures of the picket before the AAPS board meeting started.
Example 4
Front Page Design
Last year was the first time our publication added a print edition in addition to our website. This year, I wanted to learn how to design a page for the newspaper before I went to high school. I figured it would be tricky because it's new, but that is like all things, and it was hard. I was able to make my own decisions like what colors and how the format was going to look for the front page, including what pictures and articles were featured. My first step to making the page was to sketch and layout how it was going to look. I then went onto the website to block it out in InDesign. Then, after the format was finalized, I added the pictures and text. Once everything was on the page, I noticed that there wasn't a strong center of interest, so I added a black background to the dominant story to make it pop and chose the color blue for spot color to match Clague’s school colors. After I saw it in print, something I think I would do differently next time would be to add even more contrasting colors and more details like photos with the teasers and a graphic with the bottom left story. I am proud of this because it was my first time designing for the newspaper, and I thought that it was really cool to be in charge of something this important. It was hard because I had to learn a lot of technology that I didn't know, such as how to use InDesign, and there is still so much I haven't learned about the program yet. I’m excited to learn more too.
I looked at past issues of the newspaper to create consistency with styles and then sketched out my design.
Example 5
Writing and Reporting
I wrote an article about our new head principal who was coming in for our previous leader, Dr. Harvell. I learned from the interview with Mrs. Fluker that she was actually an assistant principal before this, but had gotten transferred to a different school to be their principal. She came back starting the new school year of 2025. She is a hard-working mom of three children and clearly does her best for the students and staff around her. Getting to know Mrs. Fluker has been great because she talks about things that I didn't think to ask her in the interview. Something I would like to do differently next time would be to ask more follow-up questions because she answered my questions very specifically and gave very important details. This could have been added to my piece to make it even more interesting. She likes to treat her students like her kids: as nice as possible, but serious when it's time to get down to business. When students do something wrong, she wants them to understand what they did wrong and learn from the mistakes they have made. Through this interview and getting to know Mrs. Fluker, I created a relationship that has put me in position to be a trusted student in the building for her.
I was going back and forth between my notes and my piece typing what Mrs. Fluker had said to me in an interview.