1. This paper was a personal essay written for my Feature Writing class. While the audience was simply my professor and I, writing this piece was overwhelmingly challenging, yet liberating in both my professional and personal life. If you had told me when I entered OU that I would be able to write about some of these topics, I would have laughed. The writing process behind this particular story was an interesting web for me to untangle as I aimed to be descriptive, yet found myself at a loss for words at times.

​Overall, this essay was significant for me to write as a professional writer as it challenged me to dive deeper into my descriptive abilities. I also like to include this piece as it is a testimony to who I am as a human, which I think transcends work. I hope this story allows my readers to get a deeper grasp to who I am, while inspiring them to find their own voice.
 
Personally, this assignment allowed me to heal wounds that I did not know needed healing. Writing this essay overwhelmed me with as sense of appreciation and gratitude for my family and more specifically, for my father, Patrick Hanley. As difficult as our family past was at times, I am exponentially proud of the man he is and more importantly the leader he has become to our family. I don't give him nearly enough credit, but I can say confidently that I would not be half the woman/writer I am today if it was not for my father. 

2. This piece was a feature story that I wrote for the Gaylord Extra through my Gaylord College Media class. This style of story was one of my favorite to write as I was able to get personal with my subject and use my words to narrate a bigger story they want to convey.  This story was focused on Women's History month, and the significance that Gaylord women have on our community. I was able to dive into Professor Steyn's story and show her undying commitment for gender equality in every aspect.
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This story also held special significance for me as Professor Steyn was one of my favorite professors at OU. I have had the privilege to be in two of her classes, and have grown more as a leader, woman and journalist because of her.

3. This was an APA formatted final paper for my human trafficking class. I felt inclined to include this in my work, as it was a paper that challenged and informed me in various ways. Throughout this class, we faced challenging topics that most people shy away from. However, I felt inclined to take this topics head on as knowledge is power and power enforces change. In order to instigate change regarding human trafficking, knowledge and understanding is crucial. 

The paper is focused on the consistent theme in our class of the various effects of globalization and Western materialism on the increase of human trafficking. 

4. This story was one of my final pieces of work at the University of Oklahoma where I was asked to write about an issue that is common in the Journalism and media world today. It is a longer read, but allowed me to sharpen my researching skills and dive into the history of gender bias in the workplace. While it is a heavier topic, I was able to uncover a lot of new found solutions for the future that can hopefully combat this issue. 

I found myself proud of this piece because of the way it was received by my professor and class. Many individuals were kind enough to reach out that they were not only informed, but inspired by some of the topics mentioned throughout the paper.

5. Finally, this piece was a profile story where I was able to write about one of the people who inspire me. I was able to write about my grandfather, Bob Corlett, and to this day feel as if this is one of my favorite pieces. 

This topic allowed me to dive deeper into my grandfathers life story and hopefully give my audience a glimpse into the inspiring powerful man he is today.