welcome to my story
In the photo above, I conduct a walk-and-talk interview with U.S. Rep. and then-presidential candidate Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) after his speech at the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco in June 2019. Photo by Yipei Fang
It took me 20 minutes to work up the nerve for one of my first interviews. Tasked with covering a phone-banking event for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, I procrastinated by making several phone-banking calls myself before finally approaching the event organizer.
As soon as we began the interview, however, I felt a rush of exhilaration. Her interview lent deeper meaning to the phone-banking I was doing just minutes before—it showed me how a high schooler like me could make a difference in the world around me, however small.
Whether it is interviewing presidential candidates, taking pictures of Homecoming or localizing issues like gun control and climate change, each piece of reporting I have done has taught me a little more about the role I can play within my community.
As a reporter, editor and now editor in chief of our newspaper, the Winged Post, I have learned that my passions for journalism and civic engagement go hand-in-hand. I seek to serve my school and local communities by telling their stories and reporting on issues that matter to them.
In addition, I hope to help students break out of the school bubble and engage in their communities by connecting them to relevant local, national and global news.
In this portfolio, I hope to offer a look into the journalistic process that goes into every one of my articles, photos, designs, videos, graphics and more, starting with the first interview.
NEWS GATHERING
Here, I sit down with our local district’s U.S. Representative, asking him about issues that directly concern our student body, like gun control, student debt and climate change. Photo by Anna Vazhaeparambil