NEWS WRITING
Newsworthy topics aren't always easy to come by, especially when living in a sleepy suburban town. I find I always need to be on top of new state initiatives, national events, and the current state of activism movements as a failsafe. However, fresh, local stories always seem to materialize and I relish the opportunities I have to report on them.
LIGHTS OUT: INCREASED URBANIZATION THREATENS
FIREFLY POPULATION COLLAPSE
From raging wildfires to tiny insects, our planet is dying. In this article, I expose how habitat decimation due to urbanization of rural areas is threatening firefly populations in the U.S. While they may seem irrelevant, fireflies symbolize the beauty of the natural world. If we don't act now and work to save their habitats, their lights may go out forever.
EMBRACING DIVERSITY: HERITAGE FAIR 2024
Carlmont's annual Heritage Fair is a whirlwind of dances and song from different cultures at the school. From Korean Culture Club's K-pop mashup to Filipino Club's dance, the entire student body enjoys the assembly's presentation of diversity. All the contributors on this media package hoped to bring the joy and spirit of the assembly to our readership. I managed the workflow and assembly of this article -- with my team of producers, we created strong video, audio, visual, and written storytelling.
THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: A COMPLEX HISTORY
The Israel-Hamas war is a hot topic in the news and our publication created a sub-section for all our coverage of it. With this piece, I was focused on an unbiased overview of the major events leading up the the war---going back to 1947 when Isreal and Palestine states were created by the U.N. I ensured I remained unbiased in the article to not polarize my readership. I included numerous photos to document the terror reigning on both sides of the war as civilian casualties mount into the ten of thousands with no apparent ceasefire in the future.
STUDENTS ORGANIZE DEI EVENT TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are critical topics for a representative community. This event was organized by sophomores at Carlmont who wanted to open discussion in Belmont and San Carlos about how we can improve our cities for marginalized groups. I wanted to cover this event because I felt it was important that the event reaches beyond the people who attended and furthers the discussion.
REFORMING TREATMENT: CALIFORNIA'S PLAN TO MODERNIZE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES
Mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness are all characteristics of the Bay Area. Without enough resources and tools to go around, many people are stuck in an endless cycle they cannot get out of. With Gov. Gavin Newsom's new ballot initiative, more funds will be allotted to helping struggling people. The initiative would implement more psychiatric beds in all counties in California. I got to speak with District 13 State Senator Josh Becker on how the new policies will affect cities around Carlmont.
STOLEN BUS BRINGS AWARENESS TO NONPROFIT CANCER CARE ORGANIZATION
As a Girl Scout and community volunteer, it always hurts to hear about nonprofit organizations affected by rampant crime in the Bay Area. I was especially saddened to hear that Bay Area Cancer Connections (BACC) was a victim of theft and lost thousands of dollars worth of wigs, specialized t-shirts, bras, and comfort supplies, in addition to the damages on their mobile care van. I wanted to raise awareness about their organization because they offer so many resources to cancer patients, both material and physical. I included links in my article for donations or volunteer opportunities to aid BACC in getting back on their feet.
NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE SURVIVORS WEEK COMMEMORATES THOSE AFFECTED BY GUN VIOLENCE
With gun violence being a considerable part of the modern world, especially among students, I wanted to recognize the hundreds we have lost in recent years. National Gun Violence Survivors Week is the first week in February, and it honors every person affected, whether that be losing a friend or loved one or feeling the constant threat when they go to school or the workplace. I reported on statistics of how gun violence affects marginalized groups, and despite California having strict gun laws compared to the rest of the country, we are still experiencing an all-time high rate of gun violence crimes.
LOCAL CORNER STORE UP FOR SALE AS OWNER BIDS FAREWELL TO SAN CARLOS
While I enjoy reporting on local tragedies and events, I wanted to extend my reach in journalism and write a human interest piece. The pictured corner store has been a part of San Carlos for almost a century and has a dark history. As of 2023, Chung Sun has run the corner store for 30 years and is ready to return to his home country of Taiwan. He and his store have been a considerable part of the San Carlos community, and many were very sad to see his announcement. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sun and several long-term customers of the store to understand its backstory and what it means to residents.
Q&A(I): AN INTERVIEW WITH CHATGPT
This piece was a fun side project I did in my sophomore year when ChatGPT, the AI language model, was released and quickly became the hot new toy for students. I wanted to write something that would inform students and teachers of the potential dangers of using ChatGPT for assignments, grading, feedback, essays, etc. Integrity becomes difficult with widespread access to AI; however, that only makes it more imperative for students and administration to know what it can do, why it is plagiarism, and the consequences of overreliance on technology.
FATAL CAR CRASH RENEWS CONCERNS ABOUT SAFE TEENAGE DRIVING
For this article, my partner and I covered a recent hit-and-run collision that killed the parents of two young girls. The crash involved a speeding teenage driver with passengers in the car. We wanted to display this as the tragic event it was, but my partner and I also wanted to angle it more toward teens, especially ones learning to drive, for more relevancy. We talked with a police officer, the county coroner, and a few Carlmont students about their experiences/thoughts with unsafe driving and what they can do differently to ensure lives are not lost as an effect of carelessness.
RAMSES THE GREAT EXHIBIT IMMERSES VIEWERS IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY
My partner and I heard about a semi-exclusive ancient Egyptian history exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and we wanted to bring the exhibit to readers that couldn't attend. I had the opportunity to attend the exhibit myself and I was able to speak with some staff and visitors to get more information. Since many of the artifacts had never left Egypt before, and will likely not leave again after their world tour, we wanted to showcase some significant ones in a photo gallery. In addition, my partner made an interactive slideshow that displayed the next stops for the exhibit of ancient artifacts.
LOCAL VIGIL HONORS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM KARINA CASTRO
This was my first published work on Scot Scoop with my partner, Zara Hai. Once the breaking news story of Karina Castro came out, we wanted to write a follow-up about how the community is honoring and remembering her. This was a sensitive topic for us and for our publication, and despite journalism being a new experience, we knew it was necessary to inform residents further about domestic violence. We included numerous hotlines at the bottom to provide resources to anyone who may be struggling in slience.