Writing was actually what got me into Tower in the first place when my freshman English teacher recommended me for Honors Journalism, because she respected my writing and thought I would fair well on staff. Throughout Honors J sophomore year, I focussed on writing journalistically as I thought that would be my primary area of interest. Of course, that all changed when I become a Page Editor and fell in love with design. Still, I enjoyed investigating, interviewing, and writing. I looked for in-depth features and long news analysis as they were the most fulfilling to write, but, in general, I looked for ways to inform the student
body of important occurrences that were hidden from them.
Junior Year Writing
The Tower Pulse - August 30, 2017
This is the very first story I wrote for the Tower; it was actually during the summer right before school started. It represents the type of stories I tried to write throughout my journalistic career in high school: features, profiles, or news stories that concentrate on and reveal aspects of the community that people may be unaware of. I stayed through the whole vigil, recording what was said and taking pictures, and then afterward I talked to everyone who spoke and organized it. I loved being able to investigate and discover aspects hidden to most observers thanks to my involvement in the Tower.
Issue 2 - September 19, 2017
This short news story was the first piece I wrote for print and it was part of an investigation I was doing into trouble I’d heard was brewing within our science department. This was just a simple unbiased and clear news story that reported the starlight facts and what was happening. This story would lead into a larger news analysis piece that I wrote about the department’s budget. One of the main reasons I wrote this was due to how many rumors were flying around but what was occurring, so I wanted to reveal the truth.
Issue 6 - October 17, 2017
Issue 9 - November 8, 2017
With this little news story, I wanted to inform the community about something that many may not have heard of, but was close to some people’s hearts. I tried to get a few different perspectives on the events such as how the trend away from physical books looks from an educator’s view and from a student’s view. These are the little news stories that people care about and changes in the community that people may not be aware of.
Issue 12 - December 13, 2017
This was not the only editorial I wrote all year, but it was the one I am most proud of. It was very topical as the discussion of net neutrality was occurring across the nation. I wanted to bring the issue home to students and loyally represent the ideas of the Tower staff. I did a significant amount of research to ensure we represented an educated opinion and faithfully informed our readers so they would understand the issue. It can be hard to write an editorial like this without inserting personal opinion or unfounded claims, but you have to make sure that you are faithfully represent the editorial boards opinions with evidence.
Issue 17 - October 17, 2017
This column steps away from the regular news and feature stories that I was writing and into personal opinion. It actually arose out of a conversation about the topic that I had with another staffer about the topic so we decided to write a pro/con. Essentially she said real fur was bad and faux was better, while I said the opposite. I think this displays my strongest option writing with example and fact based reasoning that is extremely informative. We received an honorable mention from MIPA for the Pro/Con category.
Issue 17 - October 17, 2017
This was one of the most extensive and student centered features that I wrote all year. My reasoning to write this story same from murmurings within the school and data I found online. I turned my idea into a reality by searching out the involved parties in the school and trying to find diverse perspectives. I went through multiple different people to ensure I did not just talk to my close friends or use the easy way out. This feature earned me an honorable mention from MIPA.
Issue 21 - March 28, 2018
This is one of the last stories I wrote junior year. Once again, through teachers and administrators, I heard rumors flying around about changes regarding the schools internet network. I got to the bottom of the rumors by talking to our superintendent. I wanted to write an informative report on the events that would unfold and how it would change the community.
Now we come to the aforementioned news analysis. I believe I received first place for news analysis in the MIPA individual awards for this piece. It was the culmination of a large amount of research and investigation. I had to work my way through multiple sources to uncover the hidden truth of what was going on. There was one point where administration started notifying the science teachers to repeat rehearsed responses to me. Still, with a lot of patience and perseverance, I was able to write a fair and unbiased analysis of what was occurring within the science budget.
We actually had multiple tough run-ins with administration last year, ending both excellently and very poorly. This year, as leadership, I have worked to maintain a healthy relationship with administration that also has clear boundaries. In many cases, this means education my staffers about the guidelines to maintain an ethical relationship when interviewing and writing stories about administration. So far, we have not had any big confrontations, but we know that our paper operates under very strict, yet fair ethical standards so we have nothing to worry about.
Senior Year Writing
Issue 5 - October 11, 2018
The first story I wrote senior year was an intensive in depth news analysis about a change in our district’s English curriculum. This was a change that was involved in a lot of controversy and division. There were many different opinions and individuals involved, so it took a lot of research and persistence to work our way through everyone involved. Speaking of “our”, I worked on this story as a double byline with Audrey Whitaker because there were so many people to talk with and interviews to transcribe. In the end, we got to the bottom of what was occurring, how teachers were involved, and the effect it would have on the community.
The Tower Pulse - October 29, 2018
This is just a simple super topical breaking news story. It was a rather sensitive subject due to the nature of the teacher leaving so I had to make sure I wasn’t turning it into a sensational topic. I just wanted to get out the correct information so that the community would be informed, especially since this was a relevant and interesting topic for many parents.
Issue 14 - January 9, 2019
I wrote this column around Christmas time to share my advice for underclassmen who are ramping up for the college application process. I wanted to share my experiences to help prepare others for the same process. I think that our newspaper offers a great platform to share advice like this that matters for the student community.
Issue 23
This is a strong example of an editorial that I wrote. It analyzes an issue that The Tower noticed within the school community. I believe I did a good job finding examples to reinforce the position we take within the editorial. The specific call to action involves the readers within the problem.
Final Issue
When brainstorming ideas for my senior column, I couldn’t think of any topic that stood out to me. I knew that any sort of statement - political or otherwise - would not age well and I would look back on it disappointed. I pondered a tradition farewell and thank you column, but it just didn’t draw me. Somehow the idea of getting thoughts from my classmates came to my mind. This was a satisfying way to create something I could look back at. The quotes will help remind me of the good times throughout high school. I also think it’s an interesting read for people who aren’t familiar with me.