WRITING
Below are highlights of some of my best work. (Please hover over photos for captions and photo credits.)
COVID-19 COVERAGE
Brief description of why covering COVID-19 has been so important for the Harker community and how we organize coverage for it, as well as how to format them in briefs, features, or news style pieces in order to comfort and inform our community.
BRIEF WRITING
Pfizer authorizes booster dose for 16, 17-year-olds
Vaccinations has been a really important part of keeping our community feeling safe and informed, even if it’s just news briefs. For more, see Design for the COVID-19 vaccination repeater my strategic team and I implemented on our STEM page.
Read the full article here.
NEWS WRITING
Upper school to continue campus reopening efforts for in-person learning
Read the full story here.
BREAKING NEWS
All 4 campuses likely to close through spring break after parent of non-teaching staff member tests positive for COVID-19
Read the full story here.
FEATURE Q&A
What to know about the 2019 novel coronavirus
Read the full story here.
Kris Estrada (11) poses with a cutout of Dr. Anthony Fauci after receiving his Pfizer booster dose on Friday, Dec. 10, at the Valley Specialty Center in the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Pfizer authorized a single booster dose for 16 and 17-year olds on Thursday, Dec. 9. (Image provided by Kris Estrada)
The sun sets on the back entrance that leads to the quad at the upper school on Mar. 2. Classes will began a rotation of at least one day per week per grade beginning in mid-April. (Image by Alysa Suleiman)
The quad after school today. The upper school will be closed to all students beginning tomorrow following a reported case of COVID-19 in the family of a non-teaching staff member. (Photo by Anna Vazhaeparambil)
An illustration of the 2019 novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
POLITICAL COVERAGE
Local: Covering San Jose and the State of California
BREAKING NEWS
Voters reject recall attempt, Gavin Newsom to remain in office
1. talk about live coverage and working with my co-ed, going to a polling center to takee photos
2. talk about mentoring younger reporters to learn how to cover politics (see leadership and team building)
3. talk about finding sources and using social media to find 18 year olds (see social media)
Read the full story here.
A polling center in the West Valley Branch San Jose Public Library yesterday. Polls closed at 8 p.m. in California. (Photo by Alysa Suleiman)
Above is a live interview I conducted with our school’s Youth Activism Club Vice President to hear from politically active student perspectives on campus.
National: Road to 2020
FEATURE WRITING
Pulse of the People: Biden-Harris and the promise for change
For a more in-depth explanation, see Commitment to Diversity. Read the full article here.
President-elect Joseph R. Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris’ win on Nov. 7 brought about the possibility of increased representation for marginalized communities. The last four years have exacerbated discrimination and underrepresentation for groups such as LatinX, Black and LGBTQ+ communities, but Biden’s administration signals potential changes for the better. (Illustration by Emily Tan)
Illustrations of then Democratic and Republican presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump and their respective vice president nominees Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. (Illustration by Emily Tan)
LIVE COVERAGE
What you need to know on Election Day 2020
put ttogether a package tto inform our community — did liive coverage. Read the full article here.
Feature Writing
My writing has improved by thinking of different ways to begin ledes, write headlines and come up with unique angles to present the story behind the news and to spotlight people to create emotion and empathy.
FEATURE PROFILES: Humans of Harker
He’s got his “ion” teaching: Michael Eng passes on knowledge through education
Read the full story here.
“There’s a very limited number of subjects, and there’s a lot of people on earth. It’s very hard to be the best at anything. My goal would be to help other people be the best that they can because it’s very pleasing to see whoever you teach finally understand [the topic].” Michael Eng (12) said. (Image by Alysa Suleiman)
Making her own way: Varsha Rammohan stays true to herself, finding self-confidence along her journey
Read the full story here.
“I’m a person who’s comfortable being by myself. But when I think of Jo, she was this headstrong, brilliant, determined, opinionated woman, and when I was younger, Jo was who I wanted to be when I grew up,” Varsha Rammohan (12) said. (Image by Alysa Suleiman)
NEWS-FEATURES
The American and Californian flag fly over the San José Fire Department Station 21 on Sept. 19. Out of the 415 emergency service workers who died on Sept 11., 343 were firefighters according to the New York City Fire Department. (Image by Carter Chadwick)
Remembering 9/11, 20 years later
Read the full story here.
Snow covers the quad next to the cafeteria at the University of Texas at Austin. The university closed campus on Feb. 14 and reopened on Feb. 24 due to the water outage and hazardous weather conditions. (Image provided by Finn Frankis)
The recent shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton have inspired students and teenagers to take a stance against guns.
IN-DEPTH PACKAGES
I’ve learned to design packages (see Design page) and interview a variety of sources, adapt to the news in the moment and deliver it in a compelling package of narratives.
What does shelter-in-place mean when shelter is unaffordable?
Read the full article here.
(Image by Eric Fang)
Growing up ahead of the curve: Gen Z on living through a global pandemic
Read the full article here.
A screenshot of questions I used during an interview with a doctor in Wuhan on Jan. 26, 2020, when the coronavirus was rapidly spreading in China. (Provided by Alysa Suleiman)
“Together, We Rise”: Women’s rights, civil rights activists around Bay Area call for change at fourth annual Women’s March
Read the full article here.
A sea of protest signs fill Market Street during the fourth annual Women’s March, which took place last Saturday across the country. (Image by Alysa Suleiman)
OPINIONS
[brief description of how I began exploring more opinion writing during the pandemic as a way to self-reflect and document my emotions and my reactions to the change happening around me]
White privilege is still white privilege, intentional or not
Read my opinion on Lana Del Ray’s Instagram controversy here.
Illustration by Michelle Liu.
Pandemic journal: Heart to heart, mind to mind
Read my opinion on isolation during quarantine here.
(Image by Alysa Suleiman)
Smiling back at the girl in the mirror
Read my opinion on gaining self-confidence from cutting my hair during quarantine here.
(Image by Alena Suleiman)