The Beginning
I began exploring photography at a young age, becoming involved in student journalism in middle school before eventually joining Carmel High School's award-winning HiLite newsmagazine. Being involved in an established newsroom at an early age provided invaluable experience in photography, journalism, AP style, and visual storytelling.
During my time with HiLite, I regularly photographed high school athletics at the state championship level, contributed to editorial coverage, produced cover images, and created content suited for social media.
Each year, I made it a personal goal to pick one individual sport and master the challenges of photographing it. I spent day after day, weekend after weekend attending games, practices, competitions, events and more in order to not only provide coverage but build relationships with everyone involved.
These experiences helped me develop the technical and storytelling skills that continue to shape my work today.
Carmel High School Men's Basketball State Championship, April 3, 2021.
HiLite, Nov. 15, 2019 - Seasons of Love, p. 54.
HiLite, Jan. 21, 2021 - Fight Like a Woman, pp. 1, 16-17.
HiLite, Sept. 25, 2020 - Essential, p. 34.
Beyond the Lens
During my time at Carmel High School, I joined the team of talented student broadcasters at 91.3 WHJE, Carmel's student run FM radio station. In my three years on staff, I was able to produce and host live shows, helped to bring back Carmel High School's Last Rock of Summer event, and contributed photography to the Greyhound Media Network's social media coverage of the athletics department. This was in addition to photos done for HiLite.
In my sophomore and junior years, I traveled to New York City with fellow WHJE staff members to attend the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) conference. In 2019, I earned runner-up honors for Best High School Morning Show, a show that was produced solely on my own. In 2020, I was part of the production team that won Best High School Comedy Show.
At the same time, WHJE received numerous state and national honors. The station was named runner-up for IBS National High School Radio Station of the Year in 2020 before winning the award in 2021. Additionally, the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB) recognized WHJE as Radio School of the year in 2020, with runner-up finishes in both 2019 and 2021.
Late High School and COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point in my photography career. As sports, school and other events came to a halt, I took the opportunity to study photojournalism more closely and expand my work beyond athletics.
During this period, I developed a personal documentary project capturing the silence of Indianapolis during the pandemic. I also photographed the Black Lives Matter demonstrations downtown Indy in collaboration with the Ball State Daily News.
These experiences challenged me to approach photography differently, focusing not only on capturing individual moments but also on documenting the broader stories around me.
Downtown Indianapolis, April 18, 2020.
Indianapolis Statehouse, April 18, 2020.
Black Lives Matter Coverage, The Ball State Daily News, Aug. 20, 2020, p.35
Black Lives Matter Coverage, The Ball State Daily News, Aug. 20, 2020, p.37
Early College Years
After graduating from high school, I began attending the University of Kansas with the goal of hitting the ground running. I quickly became involved with KUJH, collaborating with a talented team of student photographers, videographers, and broadcasters on productions such as Playmakers, Live with Liv, and Sideline Stories with Sydney Clark.
During this time, I helped expand our use of social media to bring student produced content to a broader audience. In 2022, I was named alongside two other students as a first place recipient of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters' (KAB) Best Social Media award for Playmakers: Live with Liv. That same year, I was hired by KAB to photograph its conference and awards event, covering speakers, attendees, and award presentations including the ceremony where our own production was recognized.
Working with Playmakers also gave me the opportunity to experiment with new approaches to the live production. Our team incorporated off-location live shots, prerecorded introductions, and other production techniques that helped elevate the show's presentation and establish it as one of KUJH's flagship shows.
Alongside my broadcasting work, I continued developing my sports photography portfolio. I was given the opportunity to shoot University of Kansas athletics with focuses on women's basketball, Olympic sports, club hockey, and more. I also had the opportunity to photograph the 2022 Championship winning men's basketball team after they had returned home and at their celebratory parade. Balancing these opportunities allowed me to build my experience in both visual journalism and broadcast production.
Panel Discussion at a Kansas Association of Broadcasters event, 2022.
WNBA and Professional Work
In 2025, I was approached by a University of Kansas alumna with an opportunity to work with SLAM magazine, photographing the WNBA. Through this opportunity, I covered three Indiana Fever games and the 2025 WNBA All Star weekend in Indianapolis.
Photographing the Fever introduced me to the demands of professional sports photography. Working under tight deadlines, I was able to sort through thousands of photos, select highlights, and deliver professionally edited images on time. The experience also pushed me to expand my knowledge of editing software in order to develop a more efficient workflow that I still use today.
WNBA All Star weekend was the culmination of those experiences and one of the most demanding assignments of my photography career. From Thursday morning to the early hours of Monday, I worked to provide SLAM with timely coverage of a weekend full of events. My assignments included WNBA Live, player media availability, workouts, player arrivals and runway appearances, the Skills Challenge, the All Star game, and press conferences.
Working alongside experienced professionals in the field gave me the opportunity to meet and network with an incredible group of people from all over the world. More importantly, the experience reinforced my confidence in my abilities and marked a major milestone in my development as a professional sports photographer.
What's next?
Today, I am working to continue pursuing my passion for photography, journalism, and multimedia as a whole at the University of Kansas. Whether I am photographing collegiate athletics, contributing to student produced broadcasts, or documenting stories beyond sports, I am constantly looking for opportunities to challenge myself and grow professionally.
Looking ahead, I aim to continue expanding my work and portfolio in professional sports settings, building on the experiences and relationships I've developed throughout my career.
