work
ACADEMIC WORK
This Just In: Status Symbols are Still a Symbol of Status!
The Goyard Trend on Campus, and the Class Divisions it Reveals
Trend Story
Oct. 2024
Goyard’s signature interlocking “Y” pattern has become inescapable on Syracuse University’s campus since the French fashion house’s painted canvas and lambskin tote bags rose to fashion stardom. Propelled by the online excitement of fashion influencers, Goyard’s St. Louis and Artois styles gained enormous traction among consumers in the past few years, driving up the amount people pay, and Google search for them.
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CLASS: MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING
ACADEMIC WORK
U.S. Blood Industry Faces Blood Shortage
Linked to COVID Pandemic, Three Years in its Wake
A conversation with New York Blood Center enterprises’ head of public relations, Chelsey Smith on her experience working in the blood industry through crisis level blood shortages.
Q&A Story
Oct. 2023
The U.S. blood industry is still struggling to recover from the effects of coronavirus-era
regulations on elective surgeries in hospitals and blood donation in schools and
businesses.
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U.S. hospitals were required by federal and state mandates to postpone elective surgeries in the spring of 2020, lowering the demand for blood in hospitals.
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Now in 2023, the blood industry is struggling to keep their supply at pre-pandemic levels
with nearly 50% less blood donations annually.
CLASS: REPORTING
ACADEMIC WORK
Dollhouse Rocks Through the Rain on Opening Night
New DIY venue aims to create a safe, music-centered environment for house
show-goers on Syracuse University’s campus.
Event Story
Sept. 2023
Rain pours, and cigarettes burn as the sounds of music begin to drift out the basement windows of the Dollhouse.
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With performances by Champagne Blondes, Delinquent Activity, and Gaslite, Syracuse DIY venue, the Dollhouse’s first show on Sept. 9 left house show fans electrified for their next event.
CLASS: REPORTING
ACADEMIC WORK
Controversial New Wynn Hospital Opens
in Downtown Utica
After years of construction, public outcry, lawsuits, and most recently a
demonstration by nurses, Wynn Hospital opened for business on October
29th.
Event Story
Oct. 2023
Hundreds gathered, acrobats performed, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul
addressed the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Downtown Utica’s new Wynn
Hospital on Oct. 15th.
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Among speeches from the hospital’s benefactor Steve Wynn, and Mohawk V alley Health
System CEO Darlene Stromstad, governor Hochul notably called the hospital a huge
“Wynn” for the Utica community.
The Utica community does not necessarily agree.
CLASS: REPORTING
ACADEMIC WORK
Tragedy and Innovation: How Disasters
Change the Field of Medicine
Perspectives from three seasoned nurses working in the wake of the Pandemic
Story
Dec. 2023
In 2023, Lynne Odell is an accomplished Nurse Practitioner and the owner of her own
private practice, but before that she was an overqualified nurse wishing she could give
her patients more full care under the restrictive systems of her employers, and before that she was a college student taking on more than she was trained for, and before that she was a high schooler and a candy striper, who chose to pursue a career in nursing to
guarantee herself a future with autonomy as a woman.
CLASS: REPORTING
ACADEMIC WORK
Reflections of Black, and Vietnamese-Immigrant History in Acrylic Nails:
Research Paper & Presentation
May 2024
In mid-20th century America, the invention of acrylic for nails, and the innovation of Black women and Vietnamese immigrants gave rise to long, decorated nails as a distinctively Black, working class aesthetic. Focusing primarily on the period between 1975 and 2000, the goal of this paper is to look at the acrylic manicures we see on hands around us as an artifact that reflects the history of their development, both physically and socially, through their use by Black women as a medium to create a visual representation of Black femininity that defies the dominant cultural construction of femininity from which they have historically been excluded, and their use by Vietnamese immigrants as a vehicle for entrepreneurship and the building of an ethnic labor niche. All of these histories are reflected in the artifact that is acrylic nails.
CLASS: ARCHAEOLOGY OF AMERICAN LIFE
ACADEMIC WORK
Alice’ s Adventures in Wonderland to Ivy & Bean:
A History of Children’s Book Illustration
Research Paper
Nov. 2024
Driven by technological advancements and shaped by the social changes of each era, the evolution of children’s literature since the 1850s has been immense. This history represents the development of children’s books from being no more than a physical tool used to aid in the telling of stories through oral tradition, into providing visuals to compliment a story, and eventually into a highly-visual form of media where the book’s text often takes the backseat as the illustrations drive the narrative. The course of this story was determined by the personality, life experience, and style of every author and illustrator who contributed to the genre, creating a heritage of intertwined inspiration and innovation in the medium of children’s books.
CLASS: HISTORY OF ILLUSTRATION
ACADEMIC WORK
Oregon Death Data Journalism Assistant AI Robot
AI Robot
Oct. 2024
Ever wondered what the most common cause of death is in each Oregon county? Maybe which county has the highest rate of homicide? This robot assistant can be prompted to answer these questions and more! I created this tool using Poe as a part of my Digital News and Innovation Capstone class.
CLASS: DIGITAL NEWS AND INNOVATION
ACADEMIC WORK
Mona Chalabi: An Important Writer (and Illustrator) in History
Presentation
Oct. 2024
"After analyzing statistics for the United Nations, Chalabi saw how important data was, but also how easily it could be used by people with their own specific agendas. Since then, her work for organizations like Transparency International and The Guardian has had one goal: to make sure as many people as possible can find and question the data they need to make informed decisions about their lives."
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– the Center for Advancement and Support of Education
CLASS: MAGAZINE ARTICLE WRITING
ACADEMIC WORK
Social Foundations: The Construction of Black Women as Subjects for the Carceral State
Paper
May 2024
The construction of Black women as subjects for the carceral state rests on a foundation
of systemic enfleshment, and associations of Blackness with criminality, laid in the era of
Transatlantic Slavery when the concept of race was still being built to support a racialized slave trade. Although the building blocks forming this foundation are complex, the conversation between Hortense Spillers’ “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe: An American Grammar Book”, Khalil Gibran Muhammad’s “The Mismeasure of Crime”, Sarah Haley’s “Carceral Constructions of Black Deviance”, and the 2012 documentary, Out in the Night, provide clarity through nuanced analysis of how their systemic enfleshment, the vulgarization of violence against them, and the commonality of their categorization as abject figures contribute to the construction of Black women as subjects for the carceral state.
CLASS: WRITING ABOUT BLACK CULTURE