Awards & Honors

First Place for Feature (Soft News), Society of Professional Journalists’ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest, 2023
Story: “Still ambitious: Inside Anderson Ranches’ sheep farm and its rise to success”

First Place for Personal Profile Story, Society of Professional Journalists’ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest, 2023
Story: “Gordon Clark’s second life: From surfing icon to rancher on historic Oregon ranch”

Second Place for Environment and Natural Disasters Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists’ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest, 2023
Story: “Proposed lithium mine near Oregon-Nevada border stirs conflict”

Third Place for Best News Writing, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2023
Story: “A many-headed monster: Illegal marijuana’s devastating impacts on agriculture”

Honorable Mention for Best Technical News Writing, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2023
Story: “New game plan: How targeted grazing on public lands is changing”

Second Place for Best News Writing, Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s 2022 Associate Member Publications Contest
Story: “Who owns the West? Foreign investors are buying U.S. farmland. Who’s investing and why?”

Honorable Mention for Profile Story, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2022
Story: “Down Shepherds Lane: Trailblazing sheep breeders improve U.S. industry through imported genetics”

Honorable Mention for Food Writing Portfolio, Society for Features Journalism, 2021
My food writing portfolio won honorable mention in the Society for Features Journalism’s 2021 Excellence-in-Features Awards contest. SFJ (originally called AASFE) was started by editors at the American Press Institute in 1947.

Second Place for Best Feature Writing, Oregon Newspaper and Publishers Association, 2021
Story: “Flying farmer: One man’s journey to reach new heights on the farm and in the clouds”

First Place for Human Interest Story, Agricultural Communicators Network 2021 Contest
Story: “Beauty out of dust: 75 years later, Japanese-Americans remember World War II incarceration”

First Place for Personality Profile Story, Agricultural Communicators Network 2021 Contest
Story: “Flying farmer: One man’s journey to reach new heights on the farm and in the clouds”

First Place for Food & Restaurants Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists’ 2020 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest
Story: “Some ranchers resistant to use of antibiotics,” published in The Other Oregon magazine

Second Place for Personal Profile Writing, Society of Professional Journalists’ 2020 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest
Story: “Flying farmer: One man’s journey to reach new heights on the farm and in the clouds,” published in The Other Oregon magazine

First Place for Environment & Natural Disaster Reporting, Society of Professional Journalists’ 2020 Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest
Story: “Rising from rubble: In the aftermath of fires, Southern Oregon faces a human, and economic, tragedy”

#IRE21 Fellowship, Investigative Reporters and Editors, 2021
Awarded a Gary Marx Fellowship/Scholarship, including a scholarship to attend the Investigative Reporters and Editors 2021 conference and a yearlong membership subscription to IRE.

Finalist for Glenn Cunningham Agricultural Journalist of the Year, North American Agricultural Journalists, 2021

First Place for Profile Writing, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2021
Story: “Flying farmer: One man’s journey to reach new heights on the farm and in the clouds”

Honorable Mention for Wildfire Reporting, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2021
Stories: Ongoing coverage of wildfires in the West during 2020

Honorable Mention for Feature Writing, North American Agricultural Journalists Writing Contest, 2021
Story: “Mint to be: Northwest mint farmers endure deadly fungi and foreign competition”

Best Feature Writing, Second Place, Oregon Newspaper and Publishers Association, 2020
Story: “Grapes of change: How the wine industry has transformed Oregon’s economy”

Best News Photo, Third Place, Oregon Newspaper and Publishers Association, 2020
Winning photo accompanied story: “Wind energy in the Western U.S. is growing – and so are the conflicts”

Undergraduate Research Award, University of Oregon Libraries, (8 winners selected out of 49 applicants), 2019
Research topic: Middle Eastern religious history
Published: Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal, spring 2019 issue

UpStream Art Contest, winner, hired by the City of Springfield to paint a mural, 2017

Featured Artist at Barnes & Noble, Eugene Barnes & Noble, 2016, 2017

Featured Artist at the Eugene Public Library, Eugene Public Library, 2016, 2017

Golden Eagle Award for Outstanding Leadership, Campus Life, 2016

Phillips Legacy Foundation Scholar, Phillips University Legacy Foundation, 2015
Declined award to pursue another opportunity.

Library Research Award, Northwest Christian University, 2015
Research topic: Human trafficking law reform

Featured Artist at the Hult Center for the Arts, The Hult Center, 2014

Grumbacher Outstanding Art Teacher Award, Grumbacher Acrylics, 2014

Michaels Art Teacher of the Month Award, Michaels Arts & Crafts, 2013

Jimmy Brazell Community Impact Award, Jimmy Brazell Foundation, 2013

Outstanding All-Around Student, Discus Awards, 2012

Oregon Right to Life Writing Award, First Place in State, 2011 & 2012

Oregon Right to Life Art Contest, First Place in State, 2011 & 2012