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News writing is, in my opinion, the most rewarding part of journalism. The fast pace of producing timely stories pushes me to think quickly and grow as a writer, encouraging me to stay attentive and respond thoughtfully to what unfolds. Feature writing allows me to explore a wide range of compelling topics, while my experience in sports coverage has taught me how to craft meaningful stories even in fast-moving or unpredictable contexts. As a reporter, I have a front-row seat to unfolding events, and with that access comes tremendous responsibility. During my time at The Paly Voice, I have written over 50 stories and learned to approach each one with ethics, accuracy, and care. Now, as a leader and editor, I prioritize guiding other staff members to uphold the same standards.
Notable Stories
A Paly alumnus connected with my teacher advisor about a potential student reporting opportunity about an unjust issue occurring in Cambodia. After volunteering to report on it, I connected with the Santa Clara District Attorney Erin West, who co-founded a program dedicated to taking down the Cambodian and East Asian scam industry. Through my several phone calls with her and the other co-founder Jacob Sims, I learned that these scams aren't only hurting the people getting scammed, but the scams are being performed by people forced to perform them — the scammers had been human-trafficked into the operation. I'm very proud of the complex story I was able to shed light on and it is probably my favorite single byline. Not only was it published on The Paly Voice, but it was also published on one of the Incubator's print publications, Anthro!. This story has really shown me how valuable it is to investigate, research and stay connected with key sources in order to get a story that, at the time, hadn't yet come to light.
I covered a San Francisco Superior Court hearing that eventually led to the reinstatement of a Lowell High School journalism adviser after the judge ruled the district wrongfully reassigned him for defending student journalists’ free-press rights. The story highlighted how California law protects student editors and advisers and explored the consequences of administrative pressure on independent student reporting. My reporting led me to contact the attorneys on both sides. Additionally, when the judge came back granting the adviser's petition for writ of mandate, I reported on the story by connecting with and interviewing Gustafson, the SFUSD director of communications and the president of Journalism Education Association of Northern California. Although I didn't beat the San Francisco Chronicle by publishing first, I was the first and only reporter to interview Eric Gustafson, the wrongfully reassigned journalism adviser. The Student Press Law Center has made a huge deal of this case with this story on their website's front page for over two weeks. The SPLC linked to my story on their Instagram page. This was a single-byline story, and I was proud to see the entire process through. I attended the hearing in December but wasn’t able to write the story until February. Following it from start to finish allowed me to produce a piece that highlights the importance of student and adviser press laws.
At the end of January 2026, our high school lost a student who died by suicide. I had already signed up to attend a mental health panel for student and youth athletes the week before, and the messages of the event felt especially relevant in light of the loss. For this story, I interviewed NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, ESPN broadcaster Dave Flemming and Stanford professors who helped organize the event. Although the panel did not directly address suicide or grief, I asked these speakers separately what advice they might give to Palo Alto High School students coping with loss. It was a difficult question for both Young and Thomas. After the panel, I pushed through the crowd to reach Young for an interview. While I interviewed him, a Forbes reporter from Columbia University in New York filmed the exchange and a Stanford event organizer and mental health professor took photos of me interviewing him. This story was a great opportunity to be at the center of the action, interview a well-known source, and ask a difficult but important question that was relevant to the context of the event.
IMG_8438.movA video of Steve Young answering a question I asked about why highlighting youth mental health is important, explaining that he wishes conversations about anxiety and mental health had happened when he was younger and getting more involved with football. Note: the audio quality is not the greatest.
A major controversy erupted regarding the implementation of Ethnic Studies in my school district mainly because one newly elected school board member, Rowena Chiu, was against having this course because of her belief the program was not ready yet. She faced severe backlash at a board meeting for her opinion and as a result mentioned so on social media. Another school district member criticized her reaction on social media which then prompted a response from Chiu who compared the negative comments she received at the board meeting to her experience being sexually harassed earlier in her career. This sparked even greater backlash and raised concerns about her remaining on the board. This story for me was particularly challenging since I was the first journalist to interview her in Palo Alto regarding this news. This story was a real test of the accuracy I strive for as a journalist. I had to report a heated controversy while capturing the human side of my interviewee, reinforcing the importance of careful phrasing and my ethical responsibility as a reporter.
Over the summer, I reported on my community's part in the first nationwide "No Kings" protest. I connected with a CBS publicist to gain more information about who was hosting our city's protest. I then connected with the protest organizers, a part of the program 'Palo Alto Indivisible', and interviewed them. I met a lot of passionate protestors and had to rely heavily on my knowledge of how to cover a protest gleaned from the Student Press Law Center website and from my advisers' repeated presentations. My experiences at protests have helped me guide other reporters on my staff when they want to cover protests. This was a single byline.
The Paly Voice has occasionally struggled to reimagine sports coverage within a publication that prioritizes news stories. Traditional game summaries haven't always appealed to staff writers. So, my co-editor-in-chief and I have been working in spring 2026 to shift the focus from summaries to the story of a key moment or player. Instead of recapping plays chronologically, we are encouraging reporters to center coverage on defining moments during the game and the athletes behind them. In a football story I co-wrote during the fall of my senior year, this approach transformed the team's loss into a compelling narrative, opening with a vivid scene that drew readers in and highlighted the human element of the game rather than just the final score.
The Google Form my co-EIC and I sent to our staff ensured that everyone was writing a sports story for the semester.
United States representative Anna Eshoo is one of many who gave an inspirational speech about the electric accomplishments of the familiar Caltrain system. My decision to report on this story was rather last minute, especially for a Saturday, but I consider it some of my best in-person reporting. I managed to get quality interviews: Caltrain CEO Michelle Bouchard, Stadler Rail North America CEO Martin Ritter, and former U.S. representative Anna Eshoo. This was a single byline.
United States former President Joe Biden visited Palo Alto on May 10, 2024. The Palo Alto Police Department set up barricades, which were incrementally moved further and further away from former Google executive Marissa Mayer's house, where Biden's fundraiser was being held. Palo Alto High School also closed down the campus for lunch due to a rush of Israel-Gaza protestors making their way towards the venue. Three other reporters and I struggled being in the right place at the right time but we still managed to get good coverage. This story was my first single byline and the events of the day prompted the creation of a multimedia timeline.
The Palo Alto teachers union engaged in a series of protests in spring 2024 against the Palo Alto Unified School District over salaries and other contract issues. My fellow news editor and I did not anticipate the rally that took place during the board meeting where over 300 teachers tried to fit into the limited-space board chambers. There were a lot of speakers who spoke with fervency and we were able to capture video content that was then uploaded the next day. This situation required timely reporting.
Reporting on my school's graduation was exciting and kept The Paly Voice's annual tradition of reporting on it. I managed to get beautiful videos of the event, coordinated with a drone photographer, and captured some valuable quotes that encapsulated the accomplishments of the class of 2024. I am proud of this reporting that ended my first year as a journalist strong, and I'm also proud of the headline.
The Writing and Reporting Process
1.
Recently, my co-EIC and I decided to use "News Beats" to help us generate new ideas. Since becoming an editor, I have stressed the importance of networking to my staff members. I have found that when it comes to reporting fast and accurately, you need to have connections. I have a really solid relationship with our school's assistant principal who now even comes to me with story ideas. My hope with this news beat strategy is that each staff member can become specialized in a certain area or even just a certain person so that our reporting in the future will be more thoughtful and even simpler.
2.
On The Paly Voice, we start every week with "Story Ideas" where the whole staff gets together to brainstorm topics that we should or could write about. We use resources such as the Palo Alto city calendar, the Palo Alto Unified School Board's upcoming agenda, Paly’s website, and Palo Alto Online, and occasionally consult national publications for ideas on larger stories. After the staff researches potential stories and puts them on the document, section editors present each idea in front of the class where we have a more open conversation about topics people suggested. Then, people can sign up for stories they want to report on. I have been encouraging the veteran writers to work with people they haven't already, including new staff members, to ensure efficiency and to avoid repetitive bylines.
A screenshot of The Paly Voice "Story Ideas" spreadsheet.
This the Palo Alto city calendar.
PAUSD board documents for the February board meeting, which The Paly Voice reviews before attending meetings.
The Paly Voice Slack “Story Ideas” channel, used to share and discuss potential coverage throughout the week.
3.
Before we begin conducting interviews, it's typical practice as a writer and reporter to do research. First, we figure out who to interview, and then we determine what to ask them. The Paly Voice regularly attends school board meetings that happen once a month which are typically other good outlets for generating story ideas and practicing asking questions to sources. These are board meeting notes and an example of questions to ask a relevant source.
Questions I brainstormed before interviewing a Stanford film professor.
Notes from a school board meeting in 2025.
4.
Sometimes, certain stories require different methods of reporting. Using voice memos or Otter AI wasn't allowed when I went to the San Francisco Superior Court to report on a case regarding the wrongfully reassigned journalism adviser. So, I resorted to pen and paper and documented the hearing by hand.
Court case notes and apps we use to interview.
5.
When it comes to physically reporting, our staff typically approaches it in a variety of ways. If the event is easy to go to, getting the interview in person is ideal. However, if the story will take longer to report on, sometimes reaching out through email or over the phone is helpful strategies as well.
6.
When writing stories, we typically start drafts in a Google Doc and then move them to Wordpress for edits. With double bylines, it's easier to write a story in a Google Doc since only one person at a time can edit the Wordpress draft. All of the publishing and inserting of photos/videos/captions happens through Wordpress.
All of My Stories
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