The drug that turned a heroin user’s life around
I went to the Annapolis area eight times for this story trying to track Danielle Hall down. It was worth every drop of gas and second I could have spent doing nothing. I wasn’t sure of how it would turn out mostly because I wanted to crystallize the moving parts that went into making the whole tale possible. This story was the infrequent “good story” that you get to tell and it had law enforcement being a part of the solution not exacerbating the problem as we see across the country. You also get that redemption account that gives people hope it can work for them as well. All in all my new favorite story.
Go-Go club licensing rule stirs anger
I had to do a lot of research for this story to get a better understanding of an ongoing conflict that I didn’t know too much about. My editor for this piece, Chris Jenkins, was really influential in working through this story and making sure we got all parts of the context covered.
Living memorials to Civil War dead
This was a really cool story because there were so many pieces and parts that came together to make it all happen. I wanted to tell every aspect of the journey and Maria Glod, the editor for this story, helped me hone in on what was important. I learned a valuable lesson in planning ahead because there were some great elements for the web that got lost because we tried to add them at the end of the process.
LDS panel considers case of women’s activist
I was thrown into the story on a weekend and did the best I could. In the end, the story turned out well. Making phone calls on a weekend to people you’ve never spoken to can be difficult, but it should never stop you from reporting and hearing from every source the story needs.
Mormon Church leaders excommunicate activist
My first lesson in teamwork at The Post and working for the greater good. I helped out on the follow up story on the Latter Day Saints decision on how to punish activist Kate Kelly. The summer intern class was on The Post’s annual D.C. metro bus tour when the news broke. I called Kelly and a couple of sources for quotes and then passed my reporting to Michelle Boorstein. I was profoundly struck by Kelly’s dedication and didn’t want to drop the story, even though I was on the bus tour. After this story I understood the why so many stories had multiple bylines and it prepared me for making sure I covered something well, rather than the whole story.
Waging war on drug addiction
I could have written a book on Thom Browne and maybe one day I’ll make it happen. He has so many great stories and is so candid about his life, I didn’t know what to leave out. Browne’s dedication to his public service is genuine and honest. Marcia Davis edits the Samuel J. Heyman Awards profiles, for which Browne was nominated, worked with me to streamline the story and pull the best parts out of my notebook for a wonderful final product.
Girl, father killed in chase and gun battle
This breaking news story was tough to cover. The circumstances turned out to be pretty crazy and the reporting in the following days yielded some interesting conspiracy theories.
STEM grads have edge in job hunt but often enter other fields
STEM education produces innovation, officials say
This story was a follow up to the previous story about 74 percent of science, technology, engineering and math bachelor’s degree holders not having jobs in the STEM field. I wanted to do another story because I only had a limited amount of space and knew the issue was much more complex than the original article. The education editor, Josh White, gave the story the OK and I sought to figure out why the U.S. is so hell bent on teaching STEM if people aren’t getting jobs in the field.
Friends of defendant testify in Prince George’s murder trial
I filled a notebook on this trial. Sad story but a good primer in covering a murder.
Man convicted in 2012 fatal shooting of Pr. George’s student
Officials: Chagas reports overstated
The deputy metro editor, Monica Norton, assigned this story and told me to figure out what was happening with Chagas after an Atlantic story took the region by storm. I spoke to the doctor who said Northern Virginia was the “ground zero” for a potential outbreak, and found out that she didn’t mean it was going to spread from the area. Crisis averted, all clear after the conversation and a great lesson in making sure not to use language that could be construed as inflammatory.
Former Army contractor admits to illegally taking gifts worth $490,000
Students spur council legislation for official rock
My first story for The Washington Post. I was pretty happy that day … I even Instagrammed my byline.
Wesley Robinson | Journalist 