The episode is part three of a four-part narrative series detailing the key figures behind the U of I’s decision to cut four sports-Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive, Men’s Tennis, and Men’s Gymnastics-in the fall of 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the world. I collaborated with four other fantastic students-Kellen Fife, Lily Kopp, Claire O’Donnell, and John Murphy-to help build this episode into a polished, professional product. The episode features interviews from Sage Ohlensehlen and Christina Kaufman, plaintiff athletes in the Title IX lawsuit against the U of I, Kareem Allaf, a tennis athlete that protested against the U of I, and plaintiff attorneys Jim Larew and Claire Diallo. The project was done for professor Adam Kempenaar.
Tag: Iowa
DJ Vonnahme Feature Story
The story details the journey of breakout Iowa Hawkeyes tight end DJ Vonnahme, and how his rise to the top of Kirk Ferentz’s depth chart wasn’t without its challenges. The reporting process for the story was my favorite part, as I spoke to DJ’s mom, Becky, Iowa Offensive Coordinator Tim Lester, and even got to chat with DJ in-person at Iowa’s open spring practice in April. The story was written for professor Wayne Drehs.
DJ Vonnahme Feature Story
In this assignment, I was tasked with writing a feature story of no more than 1,000 words on an athlete, team, coach, or something else relating to sports. My topic was centered on how University of Iowa tight end DJ Vonnahme would handle the pressure and expectations of performing at a high level after his breakout redshirt freshman season in 2025. During the reporting process, I found out there was much more to his story on how he even got into the position he is in now, which became the focus of my piece. This feature story was written for a class taught by former renowned ESPN sports feature writer Wayne Drehs.
Lisbon Girls Wrestling Feature Story
For my final project in my Video Production course, I teamed up with classmate and friend, Sam Kupres, to create a three-minute feature story video on the growing Lisbon Girls Wrestling program. The program, which is currently in its second standalone season, has already sent a pair of wrestlers to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state championships held at Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa. This piece was made for our client, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun newspaper, and was posted to their social media and YouTube channel.
Kinnick Stadium News Package
In this project, I was tasked with creating a minute-and-a-half news package for my Newscast Reporting and Writing course. I decided to dive into how historic Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, is prepared for over 69,000 fans each gameday. I used a variety of shots, including two standups, in this news package, as well as an interview with Michael Patterson, the Associate Director of Facilities and Event Operations at the University of Iowa. This package was well-received, and was one of my most successful projects in the course in terms of grade.
Yotopia Frozen Yogurt Still Thriving 14 Years After Creation
Yotopia Frozen Yogurt is a local business located in the heart of downtown Iowa City, Iowa. Its owner, Veronica Tessler, started the business in the late summer months of 2011 as students were returning to the campus of the University of Iowa for the upcoming fall semester. After experiencing the growing pains of starting and building the business, Tessler gained the admiration and support of the local community to continue her passion with the store. She also blossomed a valuable relationship with Country View Dairy, a dairy farm in Hawkeye, Iowa, at this time. Country View Dairy has been in operation since 2002, supplying Tessler’s frozen yogurt product since 2013. Together as partners, the business began to flourish, even enduring the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. It was through the pandemic where Tessler’s froyo “mash-ups” (12 premixed and ready to eat flavors of frozen yogurt) originated since her buffet-style business could not operate safely in that period of public health crisis. After the pandemic, Tessler’s decision to start growing her family at home with her husband Ryan has created the newest hurdle to jump through. Tessler has still managed to carve out time for Yotopia and the duties that come with being a business owner, such as responding to emails and peeking into the shop for periods of time every week to check in with her upbeat, friendly staff. With her business still as recognizable as it was in 2011, Tessler is now targeting taking her product statewide in stores throughout Iowa.
Grappling for the Well in Wilton
The Class 1A District 12 wrestling meet was held on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025 at Wilton High School in Wilton, Iowa. Wrestlers from 11 teams made the trip to Wilton, including West Branch, Highland, Iowa City Regina, Durant, Springville, Northeast, Lone Tree, Louisa-Muscatine, New London, English Valleys and the home Wilton Beavers. Wilton won the meet with 256.5 points. The top two finishers in each weight class qualified for the 2025 Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa the following week.
