and all types of stories deserve to be told. People are people, but they are also unique. Humans are more than an ethnicity, race, political view or religion. 

Journalists have the power to uncover those meaningful stories in a way that bridges the divide among the titles we give ourselves. Everyone deserves a voice. Everyone deserves connection.

From 2022 to 2025, my staff used a beat coverage system for reporters and photographers. A beat system involves at least one photographer and reporter to dedicate coverage to a specific topic, club, academic, sport or organization for the entirety of the year. This is my favorite newsroom system, allowing staffers to be “mini-experts” in their coverage areas, ensuring both in-depth, powerful coverage across all aspects of our community. Coverage requires both a variety  representation and quality reporting

Student journalism is real journalism. The coverage my staff and I make reaches beyond the school walls and bleeds into the local community. What we publish is viewed by all members of the community, more than just students and staff. 

I encourage students to find stories around us, outside of school events because our coverage is made for our community. While we tend to keep focus on student life, it's important to keep our vision broad. The world keeps spinning outside of school. It's my job to capture it and teach my staff to as well.

My school is predominantly Christian, but there are hints of diversity spread around. I strive to represent all. Religious coverage especially stood out as Texas Senate Bill 10 rolled out – requiring the Ten Commandments in school. I interviewed both atheist, Christian and Muslim students and even had the chance to spotlight ongoing discrimination of Muslim students in the process. I even reached out to the Fellowship of Christian Alliance for input. 

A journalist should commit themselves to all perspectives of a situation, being a voice for the minority too.

Politics is a topic journalists will report on ‘till the government is overthrown or the world ends. That means it is important to learn how to ethically and properly cover politics. 

For me, I’ve reported on both ends of the political spectrum from photographing a Democratic presidential election rally – which was especially hard for my Republican dad to allow – to a local conservative Charlie Kirk memorial service. My duty is to share the stories around me, regardless of political belief or of the opinions voiced to me. 

This is a duty I require all of my staff to fulfil. 

My four years at Caney Creek High School exposed me to dozens of different races, religions and traditions – mostly those of Hispanic and Latin American heritage. My school has a 66.1% Hispanic population. For me, that means taking the time to learn about their culture between interviews. While my school is predominantly Hispanic, it is the only one in Montgomery County that is, so taking the chance to spotlight local minority groups is an opportunity I take, and encourage my staff to as well. Good coverage is more than writing what you see, it's understanding it too. Sharing one person’s story can spotlight hundreds of others – underneath the title of ethnicity, we are all just humans.

Before I joined the staff, I warned my adviser that I participate in a lot of clubs and sports that take up my time already. He said I would be fine and most of the staff does as well. Now I understand why.

Complete coverage needs unique perspectives, that’s why having a diverse staff spread across multiple clubs, sports, organizations and cultures is crucial. A diverse staff is not only for finding stories to report, but having the resources to know what angles to report from too. 

Stories exist right in front of our face. That’s why during planning meetings, I require staff members to give updates on their own clubs and sports as a baseline before we start digging through other sources. If a reporter is covering a story without background information, a diverse staff cushions them with that knowledge.

Learn more about how I encourage a diverse staff on the Marketing & Audience Engagement Page