Through the use of public records and court documents in my reporting, I have demonstrated that I understand and apply the First Amendment principles and the law appropriate to professional practice. 

Through my experience at The Hilltop as the managing editor, investigative section editor and an investigative reporter, I have demonstrated an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications. 

My reporting is culturally informed and diverse, which demonstrates my understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relation to communications. 

I have proven that I understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information through my multimedia work, including in my internship with the Reid This Reid That podcast.  

At the core of all of my work, I work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity through in-depth interviews, fact-checking and document analysis.  

As a leader in campus media, leading The Hilltop newsroom, I think critically, creatively and independently each week as we work to publish over a dozen articles each week.  

Both in my data and investigative reporting experiences, I have conducted research and evaluated information by methods appropriate to the communications profession in which they will work. 

At the core of what I do, I write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communication professions, audiences and purposes they serve. This most recently resulted in winning a 2026 National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award.  

As a two-time editor at The Hilltop, I critically evaluate my own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate styles and grammatical correctness. I also used these skills in my internship with Reid This Reid That, where I fact-checked, edited and wrote a show notes newsletter, as well as in my copy editing internship with New York Amsterdam News.  

Through my experience in the inaugural cohort of the Du Bois Data Lab, I learned to first apply basic numerical and statistical concepts to my reporting. I then continued to build upon these skills in my data reporting and advanced multimedia storytelling courses, as well as in published works for The Hilltop, Howard University News Service and The Washington Post.  

I have applied tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work by using Google Sheets, Datawrapper, WordPress the Adobe Suite and other multimedia editing and creation software.  

As a digital journalism student, I have proven that I understand and can demonstrate the ethical use of digital communication through my multimedia portfolio and general social media outreach.  

Through my own Substack publication, Myla’s Muse, I demonstrate an understanding of the principles of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. This publication resulted in me speaking on a panel in April 2026 about the future of journalism.  

All of my reporting is centered around the idea of people over policy, and because of this, I have been able to demonstrate an awareness of hearing, language and speech disorders, and other physical abilities and disabilities & their accommodations through my reporting. Also being part of the solutions journalism fellowship, I gained hands-on training on covering communities that are different than my own.  

Through interviewing professionals and leaders and speaking on panels, I have been able to apply the principles of effective oral/interpersonal communications in a variety of professional contexts. 

Throughout my career, I have been met with many written statements and press releases after sources have declined to accommodate an interview. How I have navigated these pre-written responses has aided in my ability to demonstrate media literacy with a critical understanding of messages in mediated communication.