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EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

Professional Practice Assistant Professor, Utah State University 

August 2024-Present

  • Fulfill role statement of 85% Teaching and 15% Service for the University. In-person classroom lectures focused on media production and writing. 

  • Launched the state's first-ever First Amendment Club

    • Students met monthly​

    • Helped more than 400 college students register to vote during election week

    • Toured the Utah State Capitol 

  • Create curriculum for beginner, intermediate and advanced level students

  • Help students get published beyond university publications 

  • Arrange guest lectures and opportunities for students to network with professionals

  • Pedagogy focuses on two main criteria: (1) learner-focused teaching methods (teaching to how my class needs, rather than what I want to teach e.g. if they need help in writing more than editing, I change my curriculum to focus more on that need) and (2) career/application/practice opportunities (connecting cognitive learning with experiential learning) 

  • Taught the following courses:

    • JCOM 2030-001 Multimedia bootcamp - Beginner level broadcast and video production class where students learn the basic rules and techniques of photography, interviewing, audio gathering and editing, slide shows, video gathering and editing, lighting, and media ethics. Students learn and use the following applications and equipment: Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Audacity, Canon Rebel T5, Panasonic HC-v770, Zoom H1 Handy Recorder, Azden Pro-ZR Wireless Lavalier, Magnus, Velbon and TAKMA Tripods. At least 10 students published their audio projects with Utah Public Radio in one semester.

    • JCOM 3200-001 Writing for Electronic Media - Theory and practice of reporting public affairs for broadcast and digital media. Students learn the skills for newsgathering, story pitches, writing promotional teases, breaking news, short stories, and reporter stories. They also learn the different roles and functions within a TV newsroom. Students learn ethics and safety practices for news and broadcast careers. They learn to write scripts for electronic media with an emphasis on television news. 

    • JCOM 4210-002 Newscast I & II - Senior-level broadcast and video production class. Students pitch news stories, set up stories, conduct interviews on camera, shoot b-roll, edit stories, report on-air, and make deadlines for a weekly newscast. Students switch roles weekly as Anchor, Weatherman, Sports Anchor, Reporter, Director, Producer, Audio Engineer and other newsroom roles to produce the show. Students create a professional portfolio or website and publish work on USU Journalism social media pages. Students master the following applications and equipment: Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, JVC and Sony Video Cameras, Sachtler and Manfrotto Tripods, and Rundown Creator (production software).

    • JCOM 3110-001 Feature Writing - A course designed to widen perspectives to a variety of different ways to write a feature story for radio, TV, newspaper and social media. Students learn various writing approaches from the inverted pyramid to the diamond approach.  Students are tasked with finding interviews and coming up with their own story pitches. They work on projects in-depth and are encouraged to publish with local radio and newspaper outlets. One student was named a finalist in the 2024 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards for Feature Writing. 

  • Created three new courses, one per semester: 

    • JCOM4530-002 Archival Research - This is a project-based class designed to help students pursue academic research and those wanting to make standout projects in the professional world. Students select their research topic and explore ways to write it for academic publications and present it for other mediums of their choice (radio, news, documentary, social media, etc.) The course follows qualitative research methods, specifically oral histories, archival research and interviews. Capstone and other class projects are allowed if they include opportunities for archival and historical research.

    • JCOM4500-003 Covering the Legislature ​- Get up front and close to the political process through covering Utah’s 2025 Legislative Session. Join legislators on Utah’s Capitol Hill as they propose and pass bills. You’ll be part of covering some of Utah’s hottest topics and most important decision makers. You’ll interview them, write articles, radio and TV stories on the behind-the-scenes of Utah’s legislative session. 

    • JCOM3560-001 Podcasting - Create your own podcast as a host, audio producer, social media promoter, and photographer. This course takes the principles of strategic communications to help you design, produce and publish a podcast. You will learn how to strategically plan for and market your podcast from the ground up. You will analyze what captures an audience through audio storytelling and work to do the same for your podcast. After taking this course you will have advanced levels of : media consumer literacy, media production processing, strategic marketing, brand / following building, audio recording, audio editing, Adobe Audition, social media marketing, time management , meeting deadlines and portfolio creation.

  • Research interests: 

    • ​Cultural and social, actor-based perceptions of China, U.S. and Eastern policy connection points and differences.

    • Immigration from China to the U.S., relations between Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and the U.S.

    • The role of media in both local politics and international perceptions. 

    • Religious reactions to Chinese immigrants to the U.S. and how religion influenced policymaker reactions.

    • The role of religion in the media and vice versa. 

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​Special Projects Reporter, KSL 5 News   

May 2022-Present

  • Write, shoot, produce and edit engaging, in-depth, community-oriented stories for on-air broadcasts and web. These stories focus on the most important issues facing our Utah community.

  • Create compelling enterprise, accountability stories that capture the threads that hold a community together, touching on important issues surrounding family, health, emotional and physical well-being, education, religion, safety, growth, politics, government policies and quality of life through Utah's wealth of diversity in thought, ethnicity, culture, and beliefs.

  • Develop deep sourcing and build trusting relationships with diverse communities across our state.

  • Conduct in-depth interviews with experts and story subjects and write creative content for broadcast, digital platforms, and social media.

  • Cover breaking news as needed

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​Institute Instructor, Seminary & Institutes of Religion   

August 2020-June 2024

  • Create learner-focused environments for students to discover their relationship with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

  • Taught two to three college religion classes, in-person per semester to young adults, ages 18-35. Included BYU Pathways students for credit. Taught three semesters of online Institute during the pandemic.

  • Piloted the new innovative classroom environment for S&I at the Jordan Institute. 

  • Helped pilot curriculum for the following courses:

    • The Divine Gift of Forgiveness (taught six semesters)

    • Finding Joy in Troubled Times

    • An updated version of Doctrines of the Gospel

    • An updated Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Gospel

  • At 25 years old, I was the youngest Institute teacher hired by the Church and in 2020, I was among some of the first-ever part-time teachers hired.

  •  S&I Asia Area Region Conference in Taiwan, 2023 - I presented on reaching out to students to help increase their enrollment.

  • Taught early-morning Seminary at Itineris Early College High School, Fall 2023

  • Helped pilot and improve new Life Lessons curriculum for seminary students

  • Taught full-time Seminary at Skyline High School, Spring 2024

  • Hired as full-time, religious educator, Spring 2024

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University of Utah

 

  • Master's Degree Spring 2023

  • GPA 3.8

  • Major: Political Science - International Relations with an emphasis on East Asia, China

  • Minor: Political Science - Comparative Politics 

  • Mandarin Chinese, beginner level 

 

Multi-Media Journalist / Reporter, Fox 13 News   

May 2018-May 2022

  • Write, shoot and edit video stories on daily deadline for KSTU TV on-air broadcast and web.

  • Pitch and investigate enterprising news stories. 

  • Set up own live shot through phone Dejaro app and social media.  

  • Respond to breaking news. 

 

  • 66% of stories covered in the first year led the A Block in the 5 PM show.

  • Out of the 257 stories covered, 33% were personally investigated and pitched.

  • 11% of stories were published by national news networks including Fox, CNN and Breitbart.

  • 6% of stories were exclusive.

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Freelance Reporter    

Dec. 2017-May 2018 

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  • Vacation relief reporter, covering lead stories for KSTU.

 

News Stringer    

Sept. 2017-May 2018 

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  • Shoot video as needed for KSL, KSTU, KTVX and KUTV.

  • Listen to police scanner.

  • Pitch spot, feature and general news story ideas.  

 

Institute of Government & Politics Intern    

Aug. 2017-May 2018 

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  • Create promotional videos for Utah State University legislative internships.

  • Photography and video for social media accounts.

  • Use Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to create event and internship flyers.  

 

United States Senate Intern    

May 2017-Aug. 2017 

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  • Communications intern, photography and video for social media accounts.

  • Wrote, shot, edited and produced “A Day with Senator Lee.” 29K Facebook views.

  • Shot and edited “Celebrating Utah” 13.5K Facebook views 

  • Shot and edited “A Heroe’s Welcome for WWII Honor Flight Veterans” 8.3K Facebook views

  • Compiled raw footage of “Voices of San Juan County,”  21.6K Facebook views

  • Gather daily press clips

  • Answer constituent phone calls and emails.

 

Freelance Reporter    

January 2017 

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  • Covered the 2017 Presidential Inauguration Swearing-in Ceremony and Woman’s March in Washington D.C. for Utah Public Radio.

  • Interviewed Utah Delegates Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Rob Bishop, Rep. Chris Stewart, Rep. Mia Love and Rep. Jason Chaffetz. 

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Volunteer Service Representative in Hong Kong, China

    June 2014-Dec. 2015

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  • Speak Cantonese fluently,

  • Taught free, weekly English class

  • Other community service opportunities. 

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Utah State University

 

  • Bachelor's Degree Spring 2018

  • GPA 3.41

  • Major: Journalism & Communications: Broadcast Emphasis 

  • Minor: Political Science

 

Utah State University Undergraduate Research Assistant

        2014, 2016-2017 

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  • Researched and compiled information:

    • 1) Utah’s early female journalist, Ruth Cowan

    • 2) The first female newspaper printed in Utah, the Woman’s Exponent.

  • Coded information

  • Submitted article to the American Journalism Historians Association. 

 

  • Attended 2017 convention and presented article.

  • Won two honorable mentions for the best paper on women’s history and the best faculty paper.

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Utah State University Aggie Blue Print Magazine   

 2013-2014, 2016-2017

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  • Wrote and published stories for magazines printed every school semester.

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