My Portfolio: Photojournalism

"A picture is worth a thousand words," they say. Wrong.

It's worth more. A picture is worth a million, a billion, a trillion words. The perfect picture can tell the whole story, sometimes better than the copy can. Now, getting that perfect picture is not easy — heck, it might be one of the most difficult parts of reporting — but once you do, everything else falls into place.

Presidential Photography

On Jan. 5, 2o24, President Joe Biden spoke at my local community college to kick off his 2024 presidential campaign and commemorate the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Using my connections in the industry, over the course of 24 hours I went from being a regular high schooler sitting in my physics class to a press-credentialed photographer in a presidential press pool. I was inches away from Good Morning America's setup, swapping jokes with a Washington Post photographer and laughing with the Democratic National Committee's head of communication and liaison to the president. I got to meet and take photos of (and with!) Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, as well. I also wrote and published an article within hours of the speech.

Students posing with senator John Fetterman

Good Morning America, broadcasting live six inches from me.

My White House Press Pool and Biden Harris press passes that I will keep forever.

I was mere inches from the podium from which President Biden spoke to the nation.

My managing editor/best friend and me (oh, and Sen. John Fetterman, too).

My presidential coverage didn't end there.

"If I had a nickel for every time I was in the same room as President Biden, I would have two nickles."

Just two months later, President Biden returned to the greater Philadelphia area to hold another campaign rally. This time, I had his campaign's press coordinator on speed dial. I once again got U.S. Secret Service press clearance and found my way to the press pool. Biden held this rally on March 8, the day after his State of the Union Address. From a Philadelphia suburb middle school, he spoke to the nation about his pro-abortion rights policies, economic goals and reelection campaign. In addition to taking photos and covering the event live on The Spoke's social media accounts, I also published a full-length article the same night.

News Photography

Since joining The Spoke, I've written two front-page articles about my school's traffic and parking problems —one at the beginning of my sophomore year, one at the beginning of my senior year.

The first article was about the bus driver shortage post-COVID and students' transportation difficulties getting to and from school. I found it easiest to encapsulate the traffic issues visually. Words tell the story, but photos show it. The picture on the left shows just part of the long line of morning traffic leading to Conestoga High School.

The second article was about how Conestoga's parking lot was allegedly not big enough to allow the entire senior class to park on campus this year. Seniors had to choose one day a week as their "Do Not Drive Day," in which they would not be able to take themselves to or from school, yet still had to pay the annual $180 fee to park just 80% of the time. I knew that I wouldn't be able to encapsulate the issue with a regular camera; so, I got a drone. Lo and behold, I captured more than 100 open spots in the lot.

October 2021: Traffic trifecta

Stuck in traffic: Cars on Irish Road wait in stand-still traffic as they arrive to school in the morning. Since the beginning of the school year, the roads leading in and out of Conestoga have experienced overwhelming traffic due in part to the effects of the nationwide bus driver shortage.

October 2023: Parking predicament

Open spots: Due to a lack of available spaces in Conestoga’s main lot, students are only allowed to park on campus for four days a week this year. At around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18, the student portion held more than 100 open spots. Despite this, seniors will not be allowed to park on campus five days a week this year.

In early 2022, a school board meeting turned into a public exchange between anti-mask parents and pro-mask students. A month later, a group of students staged a "anti-mask walkout." I covered the walkout for The Spoke and was later interviewed on CBS News and in The Philadelphia Inquirer when the story hit the national news cycle (read more here).

Feature Photography

2023 Spring Musical

Last year, Conestoga put on "She Loves Me" as its spring musical. I took photos of the last dress rehearsal, which The Spoke then published on a full-page spread in its print issue. While I'm used to grabbing my camera as I run out of the door to cover live news, it's nice to sit back every once in a while and do some feature photography.

I will admit, taking pictures in a pitch-black auditorium onto a brightly-lit stage took some getting used to: I spent the first 20 minutes of the musical messing with my camera settings to get the perfect shot. But, once I did, the pictures came out stunning.

2023 Pep Rally

Why watch the Pep Rally if I can photograph it? While some students cheer in the bleachers, participate in the games or perform with the cheer team, I'm running around covering the event. Conestoga's Pep Rally is one of the only times in the whole year when the entire student body is in the same place at the same time. It's a student journalist's favorite day.

Student Features

Pioneer pep: Senior Timmy Corben performs a rendition of "Barbie World" at the 2023 Pep Rally. He came to school at 6 a.m. that morning along with many other seniors to celebrate the annual "Senior Sunrise."

Playing with puppies: Sophomore Keira Ebersole pets therapy dogs with a smile plastered across her face. The student services department brought the dogs to the small courtyard on Friday, April 1, as one of the Mental Health Fair's most popular events.

2022 Graduation Ceremony

One last walk: Seniors Mia Gallagher (left) and Rebecca Erwin (right) walk onto Teamer Field for the last time as Conestoga students. The Class of 2022 graduated more than 500 students.

Final moments: Members of the Class of 2022 listen to the final speech of the night at the graduation ceremony. They then turned their tassels and threw their caps in the air.

Across the stage: Senior Ethan Joslin points to a group of classmates as he walks across the stage at the 2022 graduation ceremony. Friends and family members cheered as he received his diploma.

"But first, let me take a selfie": Senior Hannah Zhang, known for her photojournalism for the Pioneer Yearbook takes one last photo with her classmates. She took out a selfie stick and smiled.

Sports Photography

I'm no athlete. But the rush of getting that perfect shot mid-game is one of my favorite things. I thrive in fast-paced environments: reporting live from sports games brings me so much joy. I've photographed every Conestoga sport — many of them, numerous times — but soccer will always remain my favorite. Check out some of my best shots.