New York/Columbia
Environment and Climate Change Policy
An in-depth investigative piece about a New York bill that aimed to stop global deforestation by making companies take responsibility for their supply chains and bans the use of rainforest hardwood, which is used in many large-scale government projects.
I interviewed advocates and politicians on the bill’s feasibility, but I’m most proud of my interviews with two indigenous people living in Colombia and Brazil. Both were open and willing to share their stories of violence, as they were either forced from their land due to illegal deforestation or witnessed the deaths of community members assassinated over their land rights. I’m very grateful to them, and hope to be able to share their stories with a larger audience.
Master’s Thesis
Fascinated by New York cities perpetual pest problem, I investigated Mayor Erica Adam’s latest initiatives to reduce the rat population. I dove into the history of leaders attempting to curb the issue, going as far back as Mayor Rockefeller. I attended the Rat Czar’s, Kathleen Corradi, Rat Academy, which teaches citizens how to prevent rats from accessing their homes and garbage.
The Department of Health refused to speak with me and it took months to get even basic information from them, so I took the admittedly humorous lessons from Rat Academy and distilled it for an audience as entertaining as I could.
New York: A Rat’s Nest
Insurance Denial
Healthcare
For investigating Healthcare with Charlie Ornstein, I wrote three stories that encompass the major aspects of healthcare reporting: a patient profile, insurance denial, and a hospital quality story.
For my final 2,000 word piece, I investigated a hospital in Grand Junction, CO, that had several inspection reports documenting how their K9 unit had abused several patients’ rights: all of whom were presenting to the ER with either an altered state of consciousness or mental illness, such as psychosis or dementia.I spent days pouring over inspection reports from state and federal hospital inspectors until I found several from St. Mary’s Hospital that explained how a K9 and its handler had attacked several patients. Because the K9 was interacting with patients, they were classified as “patient restraints” by inspectors, and 3 of 3 incidents were found to have human rights abuses. After interviewing several experts on patient restraints, such as Dr. Joy Duxbury and Dr. Kevin Huckshorn, I learned how medical professionals deicide when and how to restrain a potentially aggressive patient. I spoke to Paul Sarnese, a security consultant and former K9 handler, who explained how unethical it is to have a muzzled dog used to intimidate patients into compliance. St. Mary’s is hoping to expand the program to other hospitals in the West.
Hospital Quality
Patient Profile
Opinion
My first published story was a guest opinion piece on the shooting of my local supermarket in Boulder, CO. I was upset with the lack of change when it came to gun control and felt most articles promoted a cheesy message of coming together to persevere through this tragedy, without advocating for any political change. I laid out how my generation is fed up with active shooter drills and not feeling safe at school, work, or events. The response I got from my commuity was very supportive, and the older generations appreciated my candor. This started my love for Op-eds, so I took an Opinion class with Sewell Chan and Margaret Sullivan where I wrote several pieces I’m very proud of. I hope to one day become a columnist, but even if I don’t, I will still be writing my own essays and opinion pieces, as I truly enjoy it.