How it began...
As the years passed, I frequently traveled back to several of the countries I visited, such as Haiti, India, and China.
​
I realized how powerful the stories I described were and saw the need to keep bringing awareness to issues like the orphan crisis and sex trafficking.
​
I also realized that while the words I wrote were compelling, a picture does tell a thousand words.
So, my love for photojournalism was born out of this desire to advocate for those who have been robbed of their voices.
​
In sixth grade, my parents pulled my three younger siblings and me out of school to travel the world. They realized our education failed to show us what the world was really like, so they took matters into their own hands.
​
During that time, we traveled to over 30 countries, and my love for travel and discovering other cultures emerged.
​
However, it was difficult for my eleven-year-old brain to process everything I was exposed to. In a span of months, I got an up-close look at poverty, child slavery, sex trafficking, and the orphan crisis.
​
Reintegrating back into my small private school was brutal. I was traumatized but also haunted that my peers still did not know what was happening all around.
​
So, I began to write.
​
I felt deeply burdened to share about the places I visited and the people I met. Often, whenever I spoke about my experiences, I became overwhelmed with all the different stories I could share. Writing allowed me to clearly articulate these complex crises.
​
​
Mumbai, India
Maria's Big House of Hope, Luoyang, China
Siguatepeque, Comayagua, Honduras
Flash forward to 2o22, I moved to Honduras for six months to help a nonprofit called Amada grow its digital presence. I practiced the skills I have always loved, such as capturing candid moments on film, conducting interviews, editing videos, designing websites, and growing social media platforms. It was a remarkable period of time where I was given the freedom to create and share stories however I saw fit. I am eternally grateful to my friends at Amada, who trusted me to tell the stories of the people they serve.
​
A few weeks after I wrapped up my time in Honduras, I boarded a plane to Poland in July of 2o22. For months I had been drawn to what was happening in Ukraine and finally had been presented the opportunity to go.
​
So, I flew to Poland to meet up with a nonprofit called YWAM (Youth With A Mission).
​
I traveled with YWAM and crossed the border into Ukraine by foot. In Ukraine, we traveled to bomb shelters, schools, and buildings that had been turned into makeshift shelters.
​
During this time, I photographed and filmed the humanitarian aid YWAM was providing to Ukrainians who had survived Russia's attacks.
Outside of Lviv, Ukraine
Now...
​
I am finishing up my degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. I hope to continue the work I started back when I began journaling in 2012.