I tracked down parents, particularly vaccine-skeptics, who spoke out at a Massachusetts statehouse against the proposed move to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccinations, for this story. Produced a balanced story about how attitudes to vaccines are changing, especially in light of the elevation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to US secretary of Health and Human Services.

This story, that localized the impact of the end of federal aid to child care providers, made the Sunday front page. I reported it during a two-week stint on the business desk when I was spending a gap year from college interning with the opinion section of The Dallas Morning News. I told the story of the expiring COVID-era aid for child care from the lens of small business owners. I reported extensively to convince owners to speak publicly about their financial issues and weaved in statistics to show the impact on Texas’ economy.

I pitched this story explaining proposed legislation to improve EMS service in Massachusetts after a two-year-old died because of a delayed ambulance. I heard about the story from a legislator I had connected with while covering a previous story on Beacon Hill. I included perspectives from EMTs, the victim’s mother, legislators and an expert on national EMS issues who contextualized how effective the bills would be and compared them to other states' laws.