Sitting in the back of a cramped room at the Navajo Nation Washington, D.C. office, I listened to the stories the Navajo Nation members shared of loved ones who passed away from radiation exposure. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act had expired, and Speaker Mike Johnson was holding the reauthorization act at his desk — aggravating enough, the group rode cross-country to showcase their frustrations in the nation’s capital. I followed them as they marched to the Hill, observed their dance and prayer rituals, and listened to their stories. After, I sat down in the Senate press gallery to write their stories and share their voices.

I knew I was exactly where I wanted to be. I was in love with journalism, storytelling, sharing people’s voices and spreading accurate, fact-checked news.

Since then, I have grown as a reporter and writer. I covered the 2024 presidential election based out of Washington, D.C. After that, I covered real estate and business news in Arizona as an intern with AZ Big Media before moving to San Diego to intern at Times of San Diego, where I covered fires, protests, politics at all levels, and surveillance technology controversies. I graduated in May 2025 with my bachelor’s degree in journalism and returned to the Cronkite School for my master’s degree in mass communication, where I expect to graduate in May 2026.