I stand at the front of the crowd, with my neck craned and a camera on one hand. Surrounding me is every age group and almost every race in Prosper sitting in chairs or waving the upcoming Homecoming float. It is here I realize that I see almost every type of person, and that the diversity is off the charts. And I'm about to capture this moment to represent our town forever.

One of the things that I'm most proud about of Prosper is how diverse our town is — in culture, businesses, occupations. We are small but are constantly evolving and changing with the different people that move and contribute here. Diversity is what brings us together and helps us prosper. It has been one of my priorities to translate that into our newsroom, which is why we are always looking for the next feature, next news story, and next opinion. To some, it may look like meandering from classroom to classroom with a camera, but for us, we don't want to miss a valuable story, hidden passion, or even a controversial issue. 

Holding myself and my teammates accountable

Sometimes, diversity takes shape in acknowledging opinions other than your own and confirming facts with professionals. I encourage this mindset by verbally announcing and writing different points of contact on the Whiteboard, including members of the Prosper ISD administration. I practice this mindset by emailing various professionals that are knowledgeable of the topic I'm writing about to prevent misinformation.

Diverse team. Diverse stories.

My team makes up all different races and cultures, which I find to be one of the reasons why we all work so well together. Each member has a different value or tradition they bring top the table that enrichs our working environment and publication. But more than that, they encompass all sorts of different strengths that meld together so perfectly, and is one of the reasons we publish quality content everyday. Every single strength of theirs is unique, and it matters.

My diverse portfolio 

With each project I take, I keep in mind how it will differ from the last — in terms of culture(s) represented, program displayed, and events covered. I keep interating how Prosper High and the town of Prosper are diverse, but I need to show that through my work. Below are some of the projects that show just that.