J202 · UW Madison · 2025
I investigated the human stakes of federal funding changes by conducting three cross-disciplinary interviews, producing two strategic articles, and designing an editorial layout in Adobe Photoshop to translate complex institutional policy into compelling public narratives
ACROSS WISCONSIN
What could research cuts mean for Wisconsin?
I connected 3 sources to examine research infrastructure, employment, student support, and public trust. This article explains the consequences beyond a single lab.
Read Across Wisconsin ↗THE VIEW FROM THE LAB
What does that uncertainty mean for people pursuing science?
I centered Katie Barnes’s account of reduced doctoral admissions, students reconsidering science, and the staff who sustain lab work. This shorter article makes the issue tangible through one researcher’s experience.
Read The View from the Lab ↗I chose to cover this story because research saves lives and NIH grants have enabled critical breakthroughs right here at UW–Madison. As an R1 research institution, our campus faced an immediate threat when federal funding cuts began halting life-saving medical research, delaying new treatments, and threatening public health. Navigating this crisis required translating complex policy changes and specialized terminology into a clear narrative that everyday people could grasp, reflecting the essential ability to bridge technical data with diverse audiences. This was a timely situation that needed to be told because these cuts impact everyone, making effective stakeholder communication vital for keeping the public informed when it matters most
01 / SOURCE DEVELOPMENT & INTERVIEWING
I drove the entire outreach lifecycle from cold sourcing and interview coordination to conducting three multi-disciplinary interviews. I designed adaptive questioning frameworks tailored to each expert background, successfully translating nuanced technical perspectives into a cohesive narrative with broad public impact.
02 / RESEARCH SYNTHESIS & EDITORIAL JUDGMENT
I synthesized qualitative research across four core themes: research continuity, student opportunity, economic stability, and public trust. By curating impactful quotes and contextualizing dense policy details, I structured dual-format articles tailored to distinct audience touchpoints and engagement goals.
I translated technical discussions of research costs into concrete examples such as electricity, custodial work, and student support. Across Wisconsin opens with Barnes’s account of a department town hall, then widens to economic and civic consequences. The View from the Lab stays with her account of the pressures on people pursuing research careers.
03 / PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTOSHOP PRODUCTION
I photographed Barnes and a Chicago protest, then built the Photoshop composition around those 2 images and 1 credited university photograph. I created photo cutouts, arranged text columns around them, and used scale, placement, and red type to distinguish the headline, pull quote, and body copy.
I positioned Barnes’s portrait beside her account and brought campus imagery and public protest into the same page. I wanted readers to encounter the people at stake before treating the story as another budget debate. Captions identify the photographs and credit their creators.
Barnes portrait and Chicago protest photograph: Xitllali De La Torre Sanchez. Lincoln photograph: Bryce Richter / University of Wisconsin Madison.
View the original layout ↗I managed the outreach, interviews, writing, revision, and visual production through submission for J202. The completed package includes 2 articles and 1 editorial layout.
One interview established the human stakes. The additional voices helped me explain why those stakes extend beyond campus. That connection between a person’s experience and a wider public question is what draws me to reporting.