A photo of me at the Tennessee High School Press Association (THSPA) Fall Workshop, taking notes in a sports writing class. (Photo Courtesy of Gus Williams, MUS '28)
Introduction
Although I have been writing for The Owl's Hoot since practically the first week of my freshman year, my work up until senior year was haphazard and journalistically inferior to my current work. To be fair, my work was a product of the newsroom I had been exposed to, which was disoriented and without any clear leadership or training opportunities.
This problem eased slightly following 2023, with the appointment of former editor-in-chief Wills Frazer (MUS '25, UVA '29), who took it upon himself to increase staff size and change design. However, his work was not enough to make up for the years of untrained writers and nonexistent staff resources.
Due to this lack of training, until my senior year my work had no set style; each piece used different representations of figures and numbers, different capitalization rules and different abbreviations – or lack thereof – for months and dates. I would not classify my work prior to senior year as any bit journalistically presentable, and as such, I do not include any of it within my portfolio.
Thankfully, I remediated this systemic lack of writing preparation and coaching via the implementation of AP Style and a 20-page style guide, as well as diligent work with my young and inexperienced staff writers (See: Editing, Leadership & Team Building).
Now, my modern writing is one of the prides of my job description as the leader of this publication. While it definitely feels nice to have been recognized with multiple first place awards in my state press association for my writing, it is much more rewarding to see the results of establishing trusted relationships with interviewees and crafting in-depth pieces to highlight incredible individuals within my school and my city.
What drew me initially to journalism was storytelling. As such, I hope these pieces can highlight my dedicated work and give you a glimpse into how I prepare for stories, establish narratives and do what I do best: tell stories.
Featured Work
A selection of my best work with The Owl's Hoot
FEATURES
This story was the defining story that made me come home and say: "Mom, I want to be a journalist."
This was the most serious and intense story I have covered in my life, and spending nearly 12 hours in the Memphis autumn heat left my camera bag soaked with sweat. Here, I learned valuable lessons in photojournalism, objectivity as a journalist and how to be an approachable interviewer.
This piece was absolutely intimidating, as I was the only student journalist present, and it was my first ever protest I had attended – in fact, I believe I was the only student journalist in Tennessee to actually put boots on the ground and attend one of the "No Kings" Protests. Furthermore, presenting the information was a difficult task, since I utilized a long-form format in this digital-only piece.
Despite my hesitancy, I took away that in order to be a confident journalist, you must be grounded in your core values and establish that you belong in an uncomfortable scenario. Even in chaos, keep a level head.
Recognition: 1st Place, Best News/Feature Photograph (THSPA)
NEWS
This story marked both one of my first days learning photojournalism, as well as a monumental story within my community. Covering this event was difficult, due to the gravity of covering one of the most revered traditions at my school and the inherently emotional nature of the event.
Through writing this piece, I began learning how to capture emotions and translate that onto a page, while crafting a story that can resonate with people of all ages, since thousands of students came to know this man during his tenure at MUS.
Recognition: 1st Place, Best Overall News Story (THSPA)
SPORTS
This story was a blast to write, since it combined my love of feature writing with sports. I structured this story to highlight Taylor's story of overcoming adversity, since I knew thematically that a narrative like that would strike a chord with the student body.
By dwelling on more than his time on the track, I was able to amplify his performance by digging into his background. I learned the value of finding the "extra" and attaching it to the ordinary – each story has that, you just have to find it.
Recognition: 1st Place, Best Overall Sports Story (THSPA); 2nd Place, Best Sports Photograph (THSPA)
Additional Work
Showcasing my breadth of reporting and writing.
NEWS
On: Breaking News
This story was a doozy to put out, since I had it released within a few hours of our 10-year headmaster's announcement. I remember taking my laptop out in the lacrosse locker room, in my pads, and typing up my first draft.
This piece showed me how as a journalist, you are on the clock 24/7. This aspect of the job is tiring, of course, but also invigorating and exciting to me (I look forward to breaking news with my college paper)!
With the introduction of our website this year, we now have the capabilities to cover these types of stories when proven exigent.
NEWS
On: Death & Obituaries
This was the first story I wrote after my experience at Columbia, and it was a tough start; covering the death of the founder of one of America's largest and most influential industry leaders – Fred Smith – was a hefty responsibility.
I treated this article as a celebration of life, rather than strictly an obituary. I learned quickly how to navigate the time frame of grief when it comes to sensitive topics. In journalism, dealing with sensitive topics is a daily matter; I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned how to write a piece like this during high school.
OPINION
On: Columns
Opinion writing allows me to blend activism-centric writing with informing students about matters I believe are critical and relevant to our lives. With this piece, I was able to address the usage of AI in creating art, specifically in music. I represented my viewpoint as a lifelong musician, taking an adversarial stance on AI usage in music, while utilizing first-person language and personal narratives to establish my background and beliefs.
NEWS
On: Data Journalism
Covering the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis exposed me to how to utilize other major news sources, both regionally and nationally, in credible ways when disseminating information about a city-wide issue that was constantly changing at the time. Much of journalism relies on your ability to utilize data and broader claims, narrowing down to present your readers with a clear and concise answer.
SPORTS
On: Resilient Writing
For this piece, I wanted to dig deep and find the real reason as to what benefits the sports administration believed increasing sports nutrition at MUS would reap. I had to scrap much of the article, when I went into too much detail about macros and the nitty-gritty; while that is a difficult pill to swallow (cutting almost a day of work), it served as a good lesson in that, in journalism, your first plan might not always work. It takes a never-give-up attitude to succeed, even when it's just a story about some sandwiches!
EDITORIAL
On: Collaborative Opinion Writing
This was the first editorial I had ever been a part of in my time working with the Hoot, and since we did not have a determined editorial board, I opened the door to my editors to craft an opinion on this. While I was a voice of reason and added my own points, I allowed my writers to showcase their collaborative spirit to come to a consensus. I learned the value of hearing all sides when presenting an argument, in order to foster a healthy writing environment for all those present.