THE FRONT-PAGE STORY! It was my second day in the Detroit Free Press newsroom. I arrived at 8 a.m. to see an email from my editor, Mark Rochester, about an upcoming ethics board meeting at 9 a.m. It would announce the final verdict in a months-long conflict of interest case. I attended the meeting, got information from the treasurer’s lawyer and wrote the story by 2 p.m. With help from my mentor, reporter Jennifer Dixon, final edits were done by 4 p.m. And the next morning – July 11, 2019 – it was on the front page.
BRINGING TO LIGHT THE PERSPECTIVES OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AMID THE EVOLVING CORONAVIRUS CRISIS "We understand that these times are unprecedented, and we know that humanity is larger than the moments we've been forced to forfeit. But it’s worth remembering the moments we looked forward to, the ones we may never experience...Our world is changing. And as we graduate into the next chapter of our lives, the Class of 2020 is changing, too. Our resilience and empathy will define us in the new moments we make."