Published Articles

Street Level

"On the ground with NYU's top Journalists." I wrote three stories about Cuban Americans for an adnvanced journalism course at New York University, and my teacher submitted them to NYU's top online publication, Street Level. They chose to publish all three as one, long "rhapsody" about the changing world for Cuban Americans. I was able to work closely with Pete Hamill, reknowned writer and also editor of the publication. His advice and edits were byfar the most exciting part of this process.

Cuban Rhapsody Published: Spring 2009 NY, NY Cuba is sexy and exotic. It’s the delicate whisper drifting from lip to lip: the fancy food and delicious cocktails, the Summit of the Americas, Spanish movie star Antonio Banderas as Che Guevara in a big-budget film, and Barack Obama facing the embargo. However, the more Cuba is drawn to the center of the stage, the louder one big, brassy collective voice becomes–that of the Cuban-Americans.

The Prague Wanderer

"The Prague Wanderer, launched March 9, 2007, is a Webzine dedicated to showcasing the writing of students attending New York University in Prague. The articles featured on our site were written for one of several journalism classes at NYU in Prague or solicited from the student body by The Prague Wanderer Team. We write “Team” because that is how we work, as a voluntary team of interns and a journalism instructor juggling classes, travel and taking in the wonders of the Czech capital and Central Europe."

I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic in the spring of my junior year at NYU. For Spring Break, my friends and I decided to have a Greecian adventure. Greece, however, had other things in mind.

A big, fat Greek lesson in hospitality Published: May 6, 2009 Prague, Czech Republic [...]Greece had stolen Rachel’s wallet, shouted sexual obscenities at me in a meat market, and cheated us out of plenty of euros. But it also gave us free wine, dinner, and cigarettes for the week we were there. In January, we left our campus in New York to study for a semester in Prague. Living in the dismal and gray end of winter, we decided we needed sun and plenty of beaches for our week-long spring break in late March. We planned on flying to Athens, then taking a train to Mt. Olympus and climbing it like bad-asses.

SA Current

"The Current is San Antonio’s free, award-winning, alternative newsweekly, featuring local writers and critics covering politics, arts, music, food & drink, and every other crucial Alamo City topic." I had the priviledge of interning with this awesome staff in the summer of 2008. Although I started out only writing small calender clips, my enthusiasm to be there quickly led me to working with the editor-in-cheif, Elaine Wolff, on several stories. I soon was assigned feature stories in other beats like any on staff reporter. My experience at this paper was amazing and I would reccommend everyone to check out their website. They always know what's happening in SAtown.

Alternate Universe Published: September 3, 2008 SA, TX Today’s high-school seniors are pre-programmed with the idea that they must graduate, attend a four-year university, rack up debt, and graduate again. They do all this in hope of landing their dream job. Some students, however, are realizing that their preferred profession isn’t something taught in a traditional, four-year college. They turn to alternative schools like cosmetology, massage therapy, design, and culinary institutions to attain certification and begin their careers, often at a much lower cost.

Get a Move On Published: September 3, 2008 SA, TX With today’s skyrocketing oil prices, the coming-of-age journey to college is getting more and more costly, sometimes limiting which college a student chooses. No longer can you throw everything but the kitchen sink into the trunk of your car and hightail it to freedom-land. In our current economic state, you have to plan ahead and consider your best options, whether you’re moving to College Station or California.

Cosplay for the Manga Masses Published: August 6, 2008 SA, TX Last month, downtown Say-Town was invaded by frolicking, cartoon-costumed vigilantes. The anime-inspired rock concert and an Alamo-anime costume photo shoot were the first salvos in a live manga wave that’ll land on the River Walk’s banks this weekend. San Japan, the city’s first annual Japanese Culture and Anime Convention, is expected to draw more than 2,000 visitors, including vendors, artists, cosplayers (costume-play enthusiasts), and anime fans for screenings, panels, cosplay contests, and the premiere U.S. performance of popular Swedish band SMiLE.dk.

Hey, you can't say that! Published: July 23, 2008 SA, TX The First Amendment is not an umbrella law that protects all speech. There are many places and times that the Constitution will not protect what you want to say, when and where you want to say it.

Obama and McCain on Hutto: who’s on the fence? Published: July 23, 2008 SA, TX As the race to the White House enters its most crucial lap, one labor activist is looking to the candidates to explain why there are children behind bars in Texas. While Jaime Martinez, founder of the César Chávez March for Justice was in Washington D.C. last week for the LULAC elections, he took the opportunity to ask senators Barack Obama and John McCain about the immigrant families locked away in the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas. He wants to know, he says, what the next resident of the White House will do to stop the incarceration of children as young as 7. Since 2006, the former prison has been under a private contract with Corrections Corporation of America to house illegal immigrants seeking asylum. Roughly half of the prisoners are children.

Josiah Youth Media Fest advances righteous young talent Published: July 9, 2008 SA, TX This weekend the Josiah Youth Media Festival honors those young filmmakers by screening their films at the Urban-15 Studio and awarding a grand prize of $500 credit with B&H Photo & Video. The festival, which will screen 36 films, was named after Josiah Miles Neundorf, a media artist from San Antonio who passed away from Osteosarcoma in 2006 at the age of 20. In honor of Neundorf, it aims to support budding talent by accepting only youths born after June 1, 1987.

AARP-sponsored employee charges McNay with discrimination Published: July 2, 2008 SA, TX “Excuse me, do white legs suffer more pain than brown legs?” is the central phrase in an EEOC complaint filed June 27 against the McNay Art Museum for wrongful termination. Former Security Guard Gloria Vasquez, a Native American of Mexican descent, says she uttered those words in frustration after being denied a stool to sit on, while another employee, a white woman, was allowed to sit down during the work day. As a result, Vasquez says, she was fired from the McNay June 13 for being an agitator.

Medical pros and patients rally for realistic medical care Published: June 20, 2008 SA, TX "Health insurance is a lie, they don't care if people die," was the rallying cry last Thursday at a protest held by a local group pushing for health-care reform in front of the Humana Insurance building. The San Antonio HealthCare-Now Coalition was participating in a nationwide protest directed at lobbyist group America's Health Insurance Plans' annual meeting in San Francisco. The city's chapter of the protest brought out doctors, nurses, and patients, all rallying for a bill in Congress that would extend Medicare benefits to the entire country.

Masters of their domain Published: June 18, 2008 SA, TX “My dwarf would suggest that we enter the room with the skull in the back that has a gem in its eye. We know the gem is magical.” “All right, you enter the 15-by-15-foot room. There is debris from the ceiling falling on the ground. You need someone to roll with a plus-two intelligence to figure out that the roof is coming down.”

SAHA retrenches Published: June 18, 2008 SA, TX The President and CEO of the San Antonio Housing Authority announced his resignation last Thursday, one of several recent internal changes in the department that may represent a deeper shift in the City’s approach to low-income housing.

Jumbled gym: But critics get the City to moderate its Kid Quest fee hike Published: June 11, 2008 SA, TX The City of San Antonio changed the enrollment-fee plan for a popular children's summer program last weekend after SA parents protested a steep fee hike up to $250, and changing the lowest reduced price this year from $5 to $20.