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Feature Writing

My feature writing ranges from coverage of individuals to underrepresented communities and more. Check out some of my feature writing below!

The Center Square •

Critics slam Mamdani's policies, push for free markets

(The Center Square) – In the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s rise to become the mayor of New York City, researchers and policy analysts are slamming his policies and calling for free market economics to remain dominant.Researchers at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, discussed Mamadani’s policies during a panel on Friday and highlighted how they could make the cost of living more expensive in the nation’s largest city.One of Mamdani’s proposals includes raising corporate taxes from 9....
The Center Square •

Legal experts split over state, federal immigration control

(The Center Square) – The second Trump administration has been largely defined by strict immigration enforcement and net zero illegal border crossings. Amid the enforcement, legal policy analysts are divided over whether federal or state governments should control immigration and border security.The U.S. The Department of Homeland Security reported fewer than 500,000 border encounters so far in 2025 compared to more than two million per year in 2022, 2023 and 2024.A panel of lawyers spoke at the...
The Center Square •

Family-based visa quotas cause system backlogs

(The Center Square) - One of the most prevalent ways for immigrants to gain legal status in the United States is through family-based visas. However, backlogs in the system often lead to decades-long wait times. Each year, the United States allows an unlimited number of immediate family members to obtain visas in the country. These visas are reserved for spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens.Additionally, the government awards 226,000 family-preference visas each year. These visas can b...
The Center Square •

Arizona looks to legal immigration with Trump's border security

(The Center Square) - As President Trump approaches the one year mark in office, apprehensions at the southern border have dropped significantly. States along the southern border, including Texas, Arizona and California have seen significant reductions.In 2025 so far, Customs and Border Protection has reported 443,671 land border encounters compared to more than two million encounters each year in 2022, 2023 and 2024.In Arizona, state and local leaders have called on the federal government to en...
The Center Square •

Texas leaders look to immigration reform

(The Center Square) – Local mayors in Texas are calling on state and federal leaders to implement worker protections for immigrant workers.“This is not Republican, this is not Democrat, this is real time solutions to help our economy to keep our economy moving forward,” Alamo mayor J.R. Garza said at a recent roundtable.The call from local leaders mirrors efforts throughout the state over the decade to address workforce shortages and protect immigrant workers.In 2013, the Texas legislature intro...
The Appalachian •

‘That’s Politics’: App State election seasons through the decades

From President Richard Nixon to the Boone Town Council and from front-cover cartoons to interactive online graphics, The Appalachian has provided election coverage throughout its rich history.
In honor of its 90th anniversary and the upcoming 2024 presidential election, The Appalachian compiled highlights from various decades of the paper’s election coverage. The  way The Appalachian reported election results and trends offers glimpses into the past of App State’s political landscape. 
One of th...
The Appalachian •

Lost in translation: Spanish-speaking residents lacking access, equity

Every day after school, 6-year-old Rubí Escobar would come home to her parents, younger brother Carlos and newborn sister Lucero. As she told her parents about her day, she would tell them what she learned, translating everything into Spanish so they could understand.
“All the pressure was on me as the oldest child who could speak English,” Escobar, now 24, said. “So I would translate everything I was told in school.”
Currently, two staff members offer services as Spanish interpreters and transl...
The Appalachian •

Graduating international students say farewell to Mountaineer lifestyle – The Appalachian

On Aug. 22, 2022, Silva Keohulian packed her bags, said goodbye to her family and left her home in Lebanon to go to a place she had never heard of before: Boone, North Carolina.

Keohulian is a 24-year-old Fulbright Scholar who is graduating with a master’s degree in mathematics from App State in May.

In the 2023-24 academic year, App State had 110 international students studying at the university, according to the international student and scholar services and outreach.

Fifty-eight of these s
The Appalachian •

Meet Sophie Mead: The student who sued the General Assembly – The Appalachian

When Sophie Mead walked into Plemmons Student Union to vote in the primary election on Feb. 19, she said she had a new perspective. She showed her ID to the poll worker, double-checking her personal information when receiving her ballot.

“As I’m going to vote, I’m looking at everything very closely and making sure my address is right, my date of birth is right, my name is spelled right,” Mead said.

Mead, a senior digital marketing major, knew these were important things to do, but she views th
The Appalachian •

Club Ice Hockey looks for rink, recognition – The Appalachian

Every Wednesday, sophomore exercise science major Luke Miller finds himself in either Greensboro or Winston-Salem until 1 a.m. practicing for App State’s Club Ice Hockey team.

Miller, who plays center on the team, said he finds the practice schedule for the team “challenging” as he balances it with a class schedule that he is “barely able to get up for.”

“We were practicing at 12:15 in the morning in Greensboro,” Miller said. “I mean we weren’t getting home until four-ish in the morning.”

Wit
The Appalachian •

Historically Black community looks to preserve, educate community – The Appalachian

unaluska, Watauga County’s single standing African American community, is ensuring they are remembered in the history books.

The Junaluska Heritage Association, founded in 2011, is a “community-based organization formed to preserve cultural heritage and assist in community growth” for Junaluska according to their

Before the association was formed, however, members of the Junaluska community had been around for years preserving their history and trying to keep records. Once the JHA was establis
The Appalachian •

Authors offer new perspectives as Boone turns 150 – The Appalachian

Boone celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. To commemorate this milestone, the Town of Boone has planned many events throughout 2022 recognizing Boone’s uniqueness in the last 150 years, including a summer concert series at the Jones House, nightly summer performances at Horn in the West and “Boone Reads Together;” a reading program focusing on a celebration of local history and the stories of Boone.

Throughout the year, the program has featured numerous local authors, with books focusing
The Appalachian •

An Appal a day: Guide to commuting with AppalCart – The Appalachian

With 14 different bus routes around the High Country, AppalCart has been the official provider of public transportation for students and residents of Boone since 1981. The transportation company’s recent update, released Aug. 15, is one students new and old can familiarize themselves with below.

Routes on the AppalCart system run throughout popular campus destinations, residential communities and other popular areas in Boone. According to their website, AppalCart started services in 1980 until
The Appalachian •

App State graduate students: inside a small, hardworking community

As of August 2020, graduate students at the university numbered 1,962 of 20,023 enrolled students or 9% of the overall student population, according to a report from Appalachian Today.

According to the university website, there are more than 80 graduate degrees offered at the university. Degrees can range from programs of study like student affairs to pollinator health in the Department of Biology.

Grad student Lacey Ballard is completing her second year of her master’s in student affairs admi...