Writing Samples

From the University of Illinois Website to the Rockford Register Star

Although I was a member of the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois, during much of my late collegiate career I took some opportunities to write.

As the Media Relations Intern for the Rockford Rivets and then as the Sports Assistant at the Rockford Register Star, I was given the opportunity to write feature stories on local sports. I was also a contributing writer for The Champaign Room, a part of SB Nation. Below are some of my writing samples from my time in Champaign and beyond graduation for the Register Star and the Champaign Room. 

Hidden Gems of University of Illinois A Cappella

My first major writing sample was during my internship at the University of Illinois Public Affairs Office. I wrote a piece on the a cappella community at Illinois, which can be found on the University's blog site.

Returning from the College World Series

One of my favorite stories I wrote for the Rockord Rivets during the summer of 2017 was on Zach Watson, who played for the team for a few weeks during the summer and was fresh off a College World Series run with LSU. In the story, Watson told me about his experience making it to College baseball's biggest stage. 

Here’s the Problem with a Mascot

Much of my writing for the Champaign Room was focused on research of opposing basketball or football teams, but I was also given the opportunity to write opinion pieces from time to time. If you visit my projects page, you will see I had quite a bit of experience with the Chief Illiniwek and mascot controversy at the University of Illinois. In this piece, I wrote about my thoughts on the topic from a perspective most people haven’t heard.

Christian Life Embarks on the 8-man dream

The first story I had the opportunity to write for the Rockford Register Star was about a local high school, Christian Life, and their football program. For a school with an enrollment of 280, maintaining an 11-man football program is difficult. Christian Life decided they would try something that has been working in other states - 8-man football. This year, they are one of several schools in Illinois beginning this movement. 

Rockford's Trevor Weiskircher takes the family sport to the pros in Greece

Trevor Weiskircher was just one year ahead of me in high school, and I wrote this piece about his journey from club volleyball through college and his entry into the professional sports world. Weiskircher and his entire family have been playing volleyball for a long time, and he was actually one of the last to get involved in the sport. Both of his sisters played Division-I volleyball. 

Former Boylan Standout Dan Arnold makes leap to NFL with New Orleans Saints

I became close friends with a wiry, athletic football player in freshman history class at Boylan Catholic High School. Eight years later, he signed on with the New Orleans Saints as a 6'6", 225 pound wide receiver. Dan Arnold was injured in training camp and had to sit out for the 2017 NFL season, but is working to make the NFL not just a one-year stop. I wrote about Arnold's journey from high school to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to becoming one of the few professional athletes from the Rockford area. 

Driving to the hoop or down the track, Winnebago’s Williams a rare kind of multisport athlete

One of the editors I work with each week in the newstower at the Rockford Register Star gave me a lead for a story on a rising senior at a nearby high school. TC Williams was not only a rising senior at Winnebago and star basketball player, but he spends plenty of his free time working on cars with his dad and racing at the Byron dragway. I got in touch with TC, his father, and his high school basketball coach to discuss why he is a unique multisport athlete.

Boylan takes sectionals behind Caras, Dolan

Aside from writing feature stories for the paper, I have had the opportunity to cover live sporting events as well. Something that got me out of my comfort zone was covering the 2017 sectional girls swim meet. Behind freshman sensation Nhia Caras, Boylan was able to take another sectional crown. Caras eventually moved on to the state meet, as well.