Embedded Files
Like a lot of journalists, I loved reading as a kid. Writing and reading was always a pocket of hope, showing me a greater world and filling my mind with stories. As I began to craft my own narratives, I can't imagine my life not writing. From creative literary reflections, to creative features on characters in my community to live coverage, writing has been a wonderful reflection of my life, capturing the moments around me
Some Recognition:
Student Media Olympics superior in profile writing 2024 "Pearson battles addiction"
Silver key in for the scholastic arts award in the personal essay division
First place winner in the Portland Chinese American Citizens Alliance contest
Below are my favorite articles. Through The Pioneer Press and beyond, I've written over 40 stories, in the past two and a half years.
My Writing Rules
My Writing Rules
At my time at the Pioneer Press, I've written every kind of story under the sun. While it was difficult at first, I have created my own system and rules that works for me.
Let the story find itself.
Let the story find itself.
Oftentimes, it can be easy to try to put your own opinion into a story that hasn't been written, or try to "mind-read" what certain people are going to say. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with curating an angle or pre-reporting, one thing that's amazing about journalism is it's ability to discover and shift. I often change the direction of a story after a couple interviews, or add in new things that I would never have thought of.
Think things through, don't overthink.
Think things through, don't overthink.
As someone who likes to overthink, I have to remind myself to avoid perfectionism, especially before handing in something to my editors. I tell myself "done is better than nothing," and try to turn in whatever I have, even if I have that itch to continue to work on it all night.
The more edits the merrier.
The more edits the merrier.
The famous journalist Joan Didion would cross out entire sheets of writing on her typewriter and start again. I've learned there is nothing wrong with a lot of edits on a story, and trusting your editors is the start to growing as a writer. Recently I submitted a story that received 50+ edits in one round, and it reminded me that writing is only a growing process.
You are not the story.
You are not the story.
Although tough for my ego to admit, I have to remind myself that my own opinion is not what I should write about (unless it's for an opinion story.) Would a photographer put himself in front of the lens? No, and a journalist should not write a story about themselves.
Take a look at the story I'm currently working on:
Take a look at the story I'm currently working on:
When writing, I have a tendency to dive deep. Every word is written intentionally, and I reflect that in my comments left on the side bar. In this story, I wanted to capture something with the diligence the subject matter deserves.
I start my process in an unconventional way, by first conducting the interviews and later finding the specific narratives I want to create. I think this helps the story not be boxed in with my own bias.
Then I go in and type out the important stuff, and revise, revise, revise.
News/Event coverage
News/Event coverage
I wrote this story for The Oregonian after hearing about the Westview event. I have always had strong feelings on fast fashion and sustainability movements and quickly hopped on the chance to cover something that I already had knowledge about. I drove over an hour to watch the fashion show, interview students and experts alike and then weave the pieces together.
This story was later published in print by Here is Oregon.
Westview Clothing Swap.pdfAnalysis:
To say I was stressed writing this is an understatement. I was beyond scared.
This was my first time professionally reporting, and I was worried that I would be lacking the skills to produce something meaningful. I read dozens of Oregonian articles studying what made a strong story.
But overall, the components that made this story strong was the method behind it, the quick turn-around rate, and the variety of perspectives.
First, my attention to detail in the first paragraph sets the scene, roping the reader in with a "twist" in the third paragraph and establishes the article topic.
Next, it dives into the broader impacts of fast fashion, taking a small event with immediate coverage and blowing it to a broader scale. I had interviewed experts before, including a CEO of a fashion non-profit and professor from Tufts. I took the most important parts of the interview and wrote it before the event.
Then when the event happened, I took diligent hand written notes, interviewed around 10 students, and practiced my photogropher skills.
The next day, I sat in the library for 5 hours and submitted the first draft to my editor, who, to my dismay, was delighted with my work.
1PP01.pdfOne of my town's two grocery stores went on strike over the summer, as part of a broader movement. I had the opputunity to interview students about what their expierence was like as well as get some more practice with the 5'ws and H.
Finding the Fun in Features
Finding the Fun in Features
The thing people love to talk about most? Themselves! The thing I love to write about most? Other people! Feature writing has opened my eyes to a vivid world in Sandy, Corvallis and beyond. Take a look at some of my favorites over the years.
Duo aims to make Corvallis punk scene accessible to all - oregonlive.com.pdfI wrote these stories at the HSJI in the summer of 2024. One focuses on the work a DIY organization is doing to make punk music accessible, another is a profile on my camp friend Sage.
Aspiring journalist’s relationship with mom inspires individuality - oregonlive.com.pdfCaroline Allen
Caroline Allen
I came across her artwork in a cafe one day and thought it could be an interesting visual layout. It turned into a 4-hour interview. I learned about her entire life, her history as a financial times journalist and how she ended up in rural Oregon. This story taught me how to compact a large transcript into less than 500 words.
Allen.pdfOne thing I love about features is how unlike other story formats, there is so more wiggle room for creativity, especially in the lede of the story. For this feature in particular, I wanted to do a "character" highlight, and capture the essence of the psychic Caroline Allen, by describing her physical appearance.
Local Legends: Dan the Cowboy
Local Legends: Dan the Cowboy
DanWangerin.pdfI had wanted to interview Dan for months. He is famous in my town, walking around in a top hat and cowboy attire. I saw him walking one day, and did a U-turn to ask him for an interview. There was one caveat: He open-carries guns. My newspaper advisor had not (technically) approved the story. But I went and did the interview anyways, because my curiosity had gotten the best of me, and because I knew that other people must be as curious as I was.
Dan turned out to be kind, and had many interesting stories up his sleeve. But I struggled with debating whether to include his opinions on transgender people, and began to worry even more if I was making an unethical decision through omission. After talking about the situation with my advisor, a substitute teacher and the former editor-in-chief I decided to narrow in the specific angle to highlight the sole reason why I wanted to interview him. I focused on what drew me in, wondering his backstory and the community reaction, not his political opinions.
Larry Pearson
Pearson.pdf
Covering small details like the "9,402" days is key to "show, don't tell."
This is a feature I wrote on Larry Pearson. This story will always have a special place in my heart.
To be personal: I wrote it at a time when I was struggling with my own family's toxic relationship to alcohol, it was an outlet for me, and understanding his background gave me hope.
I covered his life chronologically, because I felt like it was intriguing and relatable. This story, to me, shows how any community member may have the most vivid stories behind them, even if the didn't do something outstanding. It shows the relationship behind ordinary people striving to make a difference.
Opinion
Opinion
Love.pdfMy sophomore year of high school I wrote predominately opinion articles about various social issues.
Take a look to the left of the sample of a story I wrote for The Pioneer Press's Valentines day page. Although it may seem like a silly high school gimmick, this story has serious undertones, as I included lexis such as "social homogeneity" and "heteronormative." I felt inspired after reading the book "All About Love" by Bell Hooks. The book helped me develop the opinion that love in modern day society was expressed in the wrong ways under capitalism, and was calling for something tangible, meaningful or sentimental.
This story captures a common theme in my opinion stories: taking a digestible concept, such as Valentines, and turning it into something tied to a broader social movement, such as consumerism.
CollegeAppOpinion.pdfI wrote this story as a sophomore who was thinking about college. Now as a senior in this exact predicament, I realize the invaluable predicament and important knowledge that comes with sharing opinion stories. Opinion stories can be an outlet, but also build a community, acting as a tool to help change systems.
Nurse.pdfI wrote this story in order to highlight the work of the school nurse in the district, who was struggling to cover the entire area. It was an important issue that got baried, that I was at least able to bring awareness about.
ChatGPTopinion.pdfWhen ChatGTP was first released last year, I was the first person to pitch our AI story. As the mysteriousness of the software began to fade, I realized that I was right with my prediction: AI is just beginning, although it won't be the end to education.
Review
KoreanBBQ.pdfK-food is a family owned resturant I had the pleasure to visit in the fall. I wrote this view as part reflection and tried my hand at my first food review.
Sports
Sports.pdfI also wrote a couple of sports story! Here is one about how my school's basketball team maintained comradery despite challenges.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse