NATALIE DISLA
NATALIE DISLA NATALIEDISLA1@GMAIL.COM nataliedisla.weebly.com @NATALIEDISLA 407-683-4501
Dear Miami Marlins, Perhaps the Miami Marlins are seeking an experienced intern who can help with their communication department. It would be an honor to showcase my skills in design, writing and leadership at an internship as an intern for the Marlins. As the Editor-In-Chief of Boone High School’s newspaper, Hilights, I learned how to utilize essential resources, such as Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, FinalCut Pro and iMovie. I also learned how to lead a staff. Whenever I noticed a fellow staff member was behind, I pulled them aside This positive attitude could be an asset to your communication team. As the Editor-In-Chief, I had to edit many stories several times and help others write stories and design their layouts, as my job was to oversee the entire paper. Having this experience in editing and helping others could also be beneficial to your communication department. Being on the newspaper requires a lot of time and dedication. I an willing to stay until whatever hour to ensure that my work is complete, as I can testify to doing the same all three years on staff. And lastly, I understand that the Miami Marlins would need also need someone who is knowledgeable of baseball. After playing seven years of softball and growing up watching baseball games, I can say I have a solid understanding of the game and its terminology. My experience in sports writing and designing secondary coverage and infographics also makes me an asset to the team. Although I understand the competition to obtain this internship is tough, please consider me when hiring new interns. Sincerely,
Natalie Disla
NATALIE DISLA NATALIEDISLA1@GMAIL.COM nataliedisla.weebly.com @NATALIEDISLA 407-683-4501
Objective:
To aquire an internship that would allow me to showcase my abilities in communications and mass media and further my knowledge and experience in that field.
Education:
Completed four years at Boone High School Graduation Date: May 31, 2016 GPA: 4.46 weighted 3.53 unweighted
Relevant High School Studies:
Journalism I, II, III, IV, and VII Honors English I and II Honors AP Language and Composition AP Literature
Experience:
Hilights newspaper staffer (2013-14), Index Editor (2014-15) and Editor-in-Chief (2015-16) August 2013-present. Experience in editorial, sports, writing, designing, interviewing, photography, peer editing and live tweeting events. Volunteering at The Orlando Family Law Firm: experience in filing and scanning documents (August 2014-April 2016)
Honors, Awards and Memberships:
Adobe Photoshop Certified Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown winner in 2015 and 2016 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker winner in 2015 Quill And Scroll Finalist in 2016 Florida Scholastic Press Association All-American for three pieces and Best of the Best for front design in 2016 Newbie of the Year for Hilights in 2014 Boone High School magnet program 2013present Florida International University’s Gold and Blue Merit Scholarship
Activities:
Newspaper sophomore year-present CSPA Conference at Columbia University in 2015 NSPA Conference in Orlando in 2015 Law Magnet students freshman year-present JV softball 2012-2014
References:
Renee Burke: newspaper advisor. 4074438451, rdnburke@gmail.com Stacy Liebman: AP Literature teacher. stacy.liebman@ocps.net Kasey Orr: paralegal, 407-453-1813
Analytical ESSAY
Over the course of this year, I have learned how to interview on a more personal level after writing my news story on transgender bathrooms and interviewing transgender students on emotional topics. I learned how to make my questions both open-ended, yet appropriate. I also learned how to get out of my comfort zone. Some of the questions I asked were emotionally-triggering and difficult for both myself and the students I interviewed, but I managed to maintain a comfortable interviewing environemnt. These interviewing skills will help me communicate with others in the future, both in the work place and in everyday life. As an almost completely new staff this year, I learned a lot about teamwork. I learned how to put other staffers before myself and tried to help them before I helped myself since my hours were more flexible because I had two class periods of newspaper, while they only had one. I often prioritized getting their interviews done before mine, to ensure their work got done. I also had to give several motivational speeches this year to ensure the paper went to press. Although I believed I was dedicated before becoming Editor-In-Chief, I realize that my duties this year required more dedication than my two previous years combined. Even when I finished all of work, I still had to stay after school for several hours finishing other staffers’ work and making minor, but tedious edits. On all six deadlines, I stayed alone with my advisor, Renee Burke, until at least 6 p.m. on the newspaper’s press date trying to finish the paper. While some deadlines were tougher than others, I can admit my last one required the most dedication. While every other staffer and editor had two stories, I had four. And besides working on perfecting those four stories, I had to edit everyone else’s stories, some in which I edited and asked for a resubmission three times. This strong sense of dedication I possess will help set me apart from other students and coworkers in the future and will hopefully make me stand out to future employers. This last deadline was a major hardship I am glad I overcame individually and we overcame as a staff. Our main three stories were in severe shape and nowhere close to being ready for press two days after the press date. After having an essential motivational staff meeting and discussing what we could do to ensure our final paper went to press, our staff found the determination to move forward and succeed. Team-building skills will always be relevant, regardless of the field I am working in. In the fall, I’m moving to Miami to study Communications at Florida International University. If I had not applied for staff my freshman year and participated in three years of newspaper, I would probably have been studying Political Science or some other typical pre-law major and going on to law school, even though I had no passion for law. I would have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on getting an education and worked endless hours for something I despise doing, if it weren’t for my lovely encounter with the world of journalism and mass communications.
Ref lection 1
This story is the most significant piece I’ve written in all four years of my high school journalism career. We wanted to cover transgender awareness before, but needed a timely news element to include it in the paper and make it relevant to students, so once news of court cases involving gender neutral restrooms spread, we immediately discussed the topic. From the very beginning, I remember wanting to write this story because I realized there were so many unknown LGBT students on campus who struggled with using restrooms on campus because they would get ridiculed for using the facility of their choice. Once I started interviewing LGBT students, I realized how important it was to these students to bring their issues to light. I also had to make sure the story was not biased and made sure I interviewed students with different mindsets and ideas towards the issues LGBT students face in public restrooms. Although some of the people I interviewed were close-minded and some of the things they said made me cringe, I maintained a professional composure and included their ideas and quotes in my story. Covering this issue was difficult because the interviews were very personal and emotional. It was also difficult to find LGBT students who were open to discussing such personal issues with a complete stranger. The Orange County Public School Board had no idea that the situations these students faced were so severe, as my story described how one student caught a urinary tract infection because they feared being ridiculed in the restroom. Now, OCPS has discussed the idea of gender-neutral restrooms, a solution my story suggested to the tormentation of transgender and gender-fluid students in public bathrooms. Although they have not mentioned installing them anytime soon, just sparking discussion of the topic is a move forward and makes me feel like I fulfilled my duty as a journalist. I brought an important issue and helped shape the agenda of the school board. After the papers were published and distributed, I received several text messages and shout outs on social media thanking me for writing this story and for acknowledging their issues. No one had ever reacted to any other story I have written before they way they did with this one, so I will always hold close this story close to my heart.
FIRST DRAFT
FINAL DRAFT
Ref lection 2
Some of my all-time favorite pieces that I would like to compete in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s Gold Circle contest.
N1: News writing, Dec. 18, 2015, pages 1 and
This was the most significant piece I wrote this year because it covered a topic that affected several students on campus and needed to be brought to the attention of other students and OCPS school board members. By writing this piece, I feel I did my job as a high school journalist.
N33: INFORMATIONAL GRAPHICS, Feb. 6, , page 1
I am particularly fond of this infographic since it covers an important topic, climate change, and since it took an ample amount of research and time to create. Before this, I had only designed infographics in color, so I also enjoyed being able to play with color.
N I am particularly fond of this design since it utilizes white space efficiently, is aesthetic to the reader’s eyes and dense in information. This design also allowed me to play with typography, which I do not usually get to do since regular newspaper headlines are almost always in the same black font.
CLIPS: Writing
Issue one, October , 2015: Social Media risks admissions This was the first column I wrote this year and I was accustomed to writing news and feature stories, so I struggled with incorporating my voice into this piece. After going through the editing process, I discovered the perfect balance of sass and intelligence.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
news, Oct. , 2015: NEWS 2 NOTE, page 4 Covering current events is an essential role in journalism, so I take great pride in finding relevant events, writing news briefs on them and informing students of them. This helps students stay up-todate with the news at a local and national level.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
news, NOV. , 2015: LET There BE Wings, page 1 This story had extreme significance at school after Edgewater vandalized the beloved totem pole and cut off its wings. It was interesting to see students’ reactions to the totem pole’s renovations and put them into a story.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
EDITORIAL, NOV. , 2015: CONTROVERSY IGNITES PASSION, PAGE 2 This was my first Letter from the Editor, so it was difficult to adjust to this new style of writing. Writing about two completely different topics, the low amount of ethnic students in Advanced Placement classes and gun control, was difficult especially since I had to condense everything into one column of text.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
So many LGBT students at schools across Orange County struggle with being able to use the restroom safely without risk of ridicule or violence, but the OCPS School Board was unaware of this. I wrote this story to bring this issue to light.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
editorial, dec. 18, 2015: POLITICAL ISSUES STIR DISCUSSION, page 2 This Letter from the Editor discussed topics with great importance, free college tuition, ISIS and the significance of creating gender neutral facilities on campus.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
editorial, feb. 5,
: DIVERSITY SPARKS INTEREST, page 2
This LFE covered more topics than the usual two or three, which made it difficult to condense into one column and include smooth transitions.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
news, FEB. 5,
: NEWS 2 NOTE, page 4
Covering current events is an essential role in journalism, so I take great pride in finding relevant events, writing news briefs on them and informing students of them. This helps students stay up-todate with the news at a local and national level.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
editorial, MARCH 11,
: MOVE PAST THE NEGATIVES, page 2
This LFE covered important topics like cheating, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and attending prom.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
editorial, MAY 13,
: FLORIDA HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS, page 2
This was my last LFE and it discussed the harmful impact fracking has on the environment and the negative affect it could have on Florida if the local government allowed it to occur. It covered homelessness in Orlando and the new technological curriculum.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
news, MAY 13,
: NEWS 2 NOTE, page 4
Covering current events is an essential role in journalism, so I take great pride in finding relevant events, writing news briefs on them and informing students of them. This helps students stay up-todate with the news at a local and national level.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
sports, may 13,
: SENIORS TRIGGER SUCCESS, PAGE 13
This story covered the senior-heavy flag football team’s undefeated regular season. I liked how the interviews came together to tell the story behind their successful season.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
CLIPS: DESIGN
This design was fun to create and allowed us to include football coverage in the paper, as the team was barely halfway into their season durng deadline week and covering the season in mid-November would be far too late and untimely.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
Designing this front was a difficult task as this was my first news infographic and it required a significant amount of research and time to create.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
This infographic’s purpose was to inform students, especially those who have never attended prom before, of prom etiquette and the immense amount of preparation that takes place before the night of the dance.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
This design was particularly difficult because I had to find a way to creatively incorporate 14 students into one design, while showcasing their personalities at the same time.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
CLIPS: WEB
boonepubs.com May , 2015- iphone glitch bugs students To read the full story, click here.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
To read the full story, click here.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
To read the full story, click here.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
boonepubs.com MARCH 15,
- FLAG FOOTBALL SLAYS olympia
To read the full story, click here.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
boonepubs.com MARCH 31,
- FLAG FOOTBALL CRUSHES university
To read the full story, click here.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
To read the full story, click here.
What’s MinE: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design
To read the full story click here.
What’s Mine: q Body Copy q Captions q Photography q Secondary Coverage q Design