I made my first documentary when I was sixteen because I didn’t understand xenophobia. I thought if people just listened to the stories of immigrants, about why they came to America, surely they would be more empathetic. After all, the United States is a country of foreigners.

I’m quite older now, and the more I learn, it seems the less I understand. My unabated curiosity to make sense of the world drives my passion to listen, and the most important lessons I’ve continued to learn — are through stories.

My time at university was all about experimentation.

I moved from New York to Texas. I interned on research projects, picked up a second major, started volunteering at the children’s section of the public library and SXSW. I got a job at an ice cream store (which I loved). I met and reported on the leaders of the movement to end the desecration of Mauna Kea and the ‘aina of Hawai’i. I almost dropped out of school during the pandemic when I was offered a full-time job as a manager/divemaster at a surf and dive shop. I started a punk band. I became the president of my school’s creative art collective. I picked up surfing and skating. I moved to London, moved to Brighton, moved to Madrid, and then moved to Vermont to work at the amazing WCAX. And most importantly: I joined the school newspaper.

As a staff photographer for Reporting Texas, I woke up one morning to find a last minute protest in response to a letter written by Texas Governor Greg Abbott who requested teachers report the parents of gender-transitioning students to Child Protective Services for child abuse. I quickly called my editor, who sent a writer to work on the story with me. The students were emotional, passionate, and civilly disobedient as they walked in the streets without a permit. I witnessed a non-resisting protester tackled, pressed onto the pavement, and taken into custody. I was staggered and shocked, yet my mind became totally clear as I snapped the shot so others could bear witness to the human impact of the state's policy on our community -- this is why I am here.

From that moment on, I felt like I had found my purpose. Visual storytelling in journalistic practice combines my talents with my passions. The hustle culture, the unending learning, the artistic aspect, the viewer accessibility, the community work, my passion for justice and the ability to have a social, educational impact. They all meet here.

I wake up excited every day to listen, to learn, to collect stories and share them.