In the summer of 2023, I worked at the Assistant Director of Photography at the Columbia Missourian. In this position, I took over the responsibilities of running the photo desk in the evenings and weekends. I was responsible for the planning of daily and long-term coverage, coaching photographers, photo-editing, photo designs for web and print, and the Missourian's social media.
Before this, I worked as a photo editor at the Columbia Missourian. Two projects I took on in this role, was "Reading Judy Blume in Columbia" and the semester-long coverage of homeless camp evictions.
For the "Reading Judy Blume in Columbia" piece, I pitched the idea of portraiture with handwriting from the sources. Additionally, I also worked to source Judy Blume books from locals to create a collage of Judy Blume books.
Additionally, I was the homelessness beat photo editor and worked alongside photojournalists and text reporters for a semester planning our coverage. I coached the photographers through the semester to create trust with our sources. In April, the City of Columbia decided to sweep one of the largest encampments in the city. In the week leading up, we doubled down on our coverage. The day the city swept the camp, I sent two photographers to cover the story and worked with them to create a heart-breaking and striking story of Columbia's most vulnerable.
