Writer of the Year Portfolio

As both an editor for my school’s online publication, Scot Scoop, and a staff writer for our newsmagazine, The Highlander, I was able to pursue various creative, often atypical pieces throughout the 2019-20 school year. I am grateful for the opportunity to be involved in such an outstanding journalism program, and, in my junior year, I made sure to take advantage of all the resources around me. Here’s what I came up with:

As I entered the 2019-20 school year, having only a single full-length feature article under my belt was a blessing and a curse; even though I lacked the experience required when uncovering and writing about a topic extensively, my situation meant I had a few ideas I’d been sitting on. The first was an explanatory feature that dove deep into the changing definition of “a sport.” As I began to plan and scaffold my article, the worries I previously had about whether or not I lacked the necessary experience quickly vanished. Instead, realizing the only way I could become good at covering topics effectively and with journalistic integrity was by giving it my all, I found confidence. So I looked around me — to great writers both in my classroom and around the world — analyzing their processes and tailoring what I learned to my own style.

Later that fall, I was presented with the task of writing the center spread article for our newsmagazine’s next issue. At first, I was upset. If I was a sportswriter, why should I be writing about other things? Still, I chose to angle the feature towards the balance of student fun and student schoolwork. I wanted to include an introduction to preface the importance of balancing fun and school, and I chose to exemplify that importance through a double profile of two students at my school. As I went through the usual series of drafts and interviews, I saw my view of myself as a writer shift dramatically. This article helped me realize that I was not just a sportswriter, but a journalist. Still, I continued to write about sports for the remainder of the year. Inspired by the game summary I regularly witnessed in our local paper, I covered a critical soccer playoff game at our school. Though I had covered many sports games in my sophomore year, I approached this game with newfound professionalism, aiming to imitate, as best a could, a professional sportswriter.

The next piece is a graphic-based article titled, “The struggle of the American soccer fan.” Having been in love with soccer from a young age, and simultaneously having the opportunity to print an article on high-gloss paper, I wanted to take advantage of both. I chose the topic because of my own experience as an American soccer fan, but I soon found many people at my school felt the same way. Through its creation, I learned to effectively balance between eliminating a writer’s bias and still representing the interviewees.

I came up with the idea for “‘The Last Dance’ for the first time” in the days following the documentary’s premiere. I thought it was a vital side of the story to tell, and unlike most, if not all, professional sportswriters, I was able to witness “The Last Dance” having been born after all its events. In all, this final piece was a result of a year’s journey to discover my writing voice and style. Though my dream of writing weekly sports-opinion articles manifested in this blog, it was only due to my experience throughout the year that I was able to present my thoughts as effectively as I hoped.