PUBLISHED ARTICLES
I've been lucky enough to have my work published across multiple platforms, giving me experience covering a variety of subjects. Below are a selection of pieces I'm particularly proud of.
For more articles, check out some spots my work has been published: The Daily Beast, NBC News, TODAY.com, Inside Defense, Military Times, Defense News, C4ISRNET, Federal Times, AirForce Times, Army Times and The Eagle.
A woman hasn't raced on the F1 track in nearly 50 years. How the F1 Academy is working to change that
By the rules of F1, women can race in the sport, yet there hasn't been a woman on the grid since 1976. To change this, the F1 Academy was created to give young women in motorsport more opportunities to advance to higher levels. I spoke to F1 Academy Managing Director Susie Wolff, winner of the F1 Academy Driver's Championship in 2024 Abbi Pulling, and Head of Unscripted at Hello Sunshine Sara Rea - who is working on a docuseries on the F1 Academy.
Rebecca Yarros on ‘Onyx Storm,’ complicated love interests and Taylor Swift
In this feature on Rebecca Yarros, which came out the week of her most recent book "Onyx Storm," she dives into her writing process, explains her connection to the main character and delves into why she decided to create certain character dynamics and arcs. She also hints at the next book. I also published a detailed recap of her first two books in anticipation of the third. I also wrote some follow-up stories on the podcast episode she filmed with Jenna Bush Hager, which I helped research.
Inside Competitive Cheese-Rolling: Through Bumps and Bruises, These Pros Are Legen-Dairy
Each year people travel from all over the world to compete in Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake. A wheel of cheese is tossed down a 200-yard hill in Brockworth, England. People then throw themselves down the hill, attempting to run, roll and slide their way to the bottom the quickest after the cheese. This article explores the ins and outs of competitive cheese-rolling and what comes with the unique tradition.
How ‘The Pitt’ Highlights the Importance of Filipino Nurses in the Emergency Department
Filipinos make up a vital part of the U.S. nursing workforce. Yet despite this prevalence, medical TV dramas often forego apt representation of their importance. HBO's "The Pitt" highlights and celebrates the importance of a community that has long been overlooked in Hollywood. I spoke with Amielynn Abellera and Kristin Villanueva, who play nurse Perlah and Princess, respectively, in the show about the impact their characters bring to the screen.
Family of West Virginia mom Melanie Metheny, who vanished 19 years ago, works to change how missing persons cases are handled
Melanie Metheny, a 21-year-old mother to three, vanished from Belle, WV in the summer of 2006. To this day, she is still missing. For this Cold Case Spotlight article, I spoke with her family and police - who are stilling looking for her and hope to find answers one day.
High schooler and F1 driver: How 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli is doing both with the pressure of a legend on his shoulders
When Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes to drive for Ferrari, 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli stepped up to the plate to take his F1 seat. I spoke with Kimi ahead of the release of a documentary on him about the pressure of joining so young, completing high school while driving in F1 and taking over for a legend.
How soccer icon Alex Morgan is fighting for future athlete moms
I interviewed former U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Captain Alex Morganabout the struggles she faced as a first-time mom and an athlete. We also spoke about what she's been doing to ensure future mom athletes aren't treated the same way she was. The piece also takes a look at the new strikers and her thoughts on the team's progression since her retirement.
Patrick Schwarzenegger kept ‘White Lotus’ gig a secret — until mom Maria Shriver had a theory
Before Season 3 of "The White Lotus" aired, Patrick Schwarzenegger chatted with me about the reactions from his famous family when they heard the news of his casting. He also discussed his character, Saxon Ratliff, and his onset relationships. Later in the season, we spoke again about some character developments he went through and watching the show with his family as well as past roles he appeared in.
Chase Stokes, Rudy Pankow and Jonathan Daviss unpack the ending of ‘Outer Banks’ Season 4, Part 1
This was my first celebrity interview I'd ever done. I interviewed Chase Stokes, Rudy Pankow and Jonathan Daviss about the ending to part one of season four of "Outer Banks." I used the interviews I conducted to get a more in-depth look at the season, explain the ending and get a glimpse at what part two may look like.
Ina Garten has no regrets on staying child-free: 'I love my life the way it is now'
Instead of interviewing Ina Garten, I put together a story based on Hoda Kotb's full interview with her. As we had other pieces coming out on other aspects of her life, I focused on her decision to remain child-free.
‘Don’t Move’ ending explained by star Kelsey Asbille: What happens to Iris?
In this ending explainer of "Don't Move," Kelsey Asbille took the time to tell me about the ins and outs of the film and the deeper meaning behind each choice she made. What began as a regular interview, turned into a much more meaningful piece.
‘Sweet Bobby’ subject Kirat Assi opens up about life after catfishing scandal: ‘People don’t know what to say’
Simran Bhogal was the victim of a catfishing scam for almost 9 years. After Netflix created a documentary about her story called "Sweet Bobby," which shares the same name with a podcast that first reported her story widely, she spoke with me about where she is today and how the incident affected her life.
Harriet Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece on how her family is keeping her legacy alive
Rita Daniels, Harriet Tubman's great-great-great-grandniece, sat down with me to discuss her relative's impact, legacy and how the surviving family is working to preserve her memory.
MTG Says Trump Admin Is ‘Working Harder to Protect Pedophiles’ Than Victims
In this breaking news story, I explored some of the MAGA civil war feuding within the Republican Party. Specifically, Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted her disgust with the government regarding the handling of the Epstein Files. This piece looks at her words, adding in the broader context around why she spoke out.
EXCLUSIVE: Family Feud Erupts After Cheerleader, 18, Killed on Cruise
After Anna Kepner was killed on a cruise ship, her father, Christopher Kepner, spoke to me about the misinformation that had been reported and their families feud.
Military Group Condemns Pentagon Pete’s Actions as ‘Worst-Case Scenario’
In this article, I cover the National Institute of Military Justice's response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attack against Senator Mark Kelly.
Why is Alphaville’s ‘Forever Young’ trending again?
For this trend piece it began as a fun piece on why Alphaville's "Forever Young" was trending again in 2024. However, thanks to a great interview from a mom who used the song on TikTok to document her daughter growing up, a cute trend piece turned into a story about how music can connect one to a moment in time.
DOD corrects Replicator inaccuracy, providing rare glimpse into budget decision process
In "DOD corrects Replicator inaccuracy, providing rare glimpse into budget decision process," I conducted an exclusive interview with a senior defense official about an inaccuracy I found in the Pentagon's budget pertaining to the secretive Replicator initiative.
CDAO's LLM maturity model will be ready for evaluation next month
In "CDAO's LLM maturity model will be ready for evaluation next month" I interviewed a Navy Captain in charge of the new maturity model to evaluate LLM's.
How the ‘nuclear football’ remains a potent symbol of the unthinkable
In "How the 'nuclear football' remains a potent symbol of the unthinkable," I explore the myths and history of the nuclear football through interviews with experts and an aid who used to handle the nuclear football during the Clinton administration. I also appeared as a guest on the Military Times podcast to discuss the article.
Veterans and advocates sue DoD, VA over fertility policies
In "Veterans and advocates sue DOD, VA over fertility policies," I covered the veterans and civil rights advocates who filed two lawsuits against the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs claiming they were denied federal aid for in-vitro fertilization due to their marital status and sexual orientation.
In a season of deadly rip currents, Air Force officer saves swimmer
In "In a season of deadly rip currents, Air Force officer saves swimmer," I spoke with an Air Force officer who saved swimmers caught in a rip current while at the beach. I tried to paint the picture as vividly as possible and highlight the heroics of his actions.
REVIEW: ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’ stellar performances underscored by confusing plot
In "'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' stellar performances underscored by confusing plot," I reviewed the film, highlights the positive acting performances, contrasting against the poor writing, disappointing plot, and lack of fantastic beasts and magical memories the "Harry Potter" franchise normally brings.
OPINION: Mental health during the coronavirus pandemic presents new challenges
In "Mental health during the coronavirus pandemic presents new challenges," I wrote an opinion piece on how college students mental health was being affected by COVID-19. This piece caught the attention of The Verge and they ended up interviewing me for an article they were writing on the same topic.
REVIEW: ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is visually intriguing but fails to achieve the MCU standard
In "'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' is visually intriguing but fails to achieve the MCU standard," I reviewed the film, positively commenting on it's visual appeal and the new direction MCU decided to go in, contrasting against the disappointing cameos, plot holes, and hit or miss CGI scenes.
Capstone Project
During my senior year of my undergraduate education, I wrote an in depth piece on the Miss America Organization. I interviewed contestants and a judge/emcee to write a newsy piece about a topical organization. I wrote this spanning from Fall 2022 to Spring 2023. Although I never published it anywhere, I'm very proud of the work I did for this piece.
The Miss America Organization: Behind the Glitz and Glamour and into the Rebrands, Rule Changes and the Battle for Relevancy
By Georgina DiNardo
Inside Katzen Theater at American University, the harsh spotlights shine down on the 12 finalists hoping to hear their name called as one of the top five candidates for Miss District of Columbia 2022. The only sound filling the contestants' ears in the silent room is the wild beating of their hearts and a faint static noise drowning out all other sound.
Standing in high heels with her back ramrod straight and her blood pressure spiking, Kisa Motiwala, 23, recalled the shiver that enveloped her body after each name called that wasn’t her own.
“The world slows down around you,” Motiwala, the current Miss DC Volunteer, said. “That's the moment that you most vividly remember. I remember the face of every single girl that you're up on that stage with, every single girl that you're holding hands with, every single person that's standing out in the crowd with the bright lights.”
Sonya Gavankar, Miss DC 1997 and the Miss DC emcee at Motiwala’s competition, is handed a list of the five finalists, one of whom will represent the District for a year and participate in the next Miss America competition. Bursts of applause ring through the silence as each finalist's name is read out. When only one name is left to read, the tension in the room is palpable. She pauses.
“When I'm handed the piece of paper, I actually don't look,” Gavankar, 46, said. “I look to see that there are names that are legible in all the positions and then I don't look at it again, because I don't want to give anything away to anybody.”
When Alivia Roberts is finally named the winner of the Miss DC 2022 competition, she becomes part of the glamorous image the Miss America Organization projects to the world. But that image of beauty, grace and sophistication has been tarnished in recent years amid sexist accusations and leaked email scandals from high ranking officials, including the former CEO. As difficult as those challenges are, the biggest is the organization's battle to stay relevant in a world that no longer values the Miss America pageant as it once did.
In 2017, the program drew an audience of 5.35 million viewers. In 2018, the number dropped to 4.34 million. Continuing the downward trend, the Miss America 2019 finale drew an audience of 3.6 million people, hitting an all time low for the competition. With viewership dwindling, the future of Miss America remains uncertain. A program that attracted 27 million viewers when it first was aired live in 1954, struggles to retain its audience today.
“I think that right now there's such a focus on trying to make Miss America relevant and trying to make sure that they're seen in culture as progressive and moving forward,” Jacqueline Thomas, Miss Arizona 2019, said. “But, I don't think that the general culture of America is Miss America's target audience.”
The Miss America Organization denied request for comment.
To address the challenges, Miss America unveiled a new version of itself in September 2018 called Miss America 2.0. The swimsuit competition was replaced with a social impact section, which included a live interview with judges, emphasizing articulate candidates, their passions and what they would like to accomplish as Miss America. In the past few years, a myriad of new CEOs have taken over the competition and moved it in different directions. This rebranding changes the entire image from a beauty pageant, to a scholarship program that focused on empowering female leaders.
Removing the swimsuit competition caused mixed feelings internally among the contestants. Roberts, who ended up being crowned Miss DC 2022, competed in the Miss America Organization before its repeal of the swimsuit competition and after.
Roberts said the event put more strain on her mental health.
“I did not like competing in swimsuit,” she said. “I often found myself preparing for swimsuit much harder and more strenuously than other phases of competition.”
On the other hand, Thomas, 28, liked the swimsuit portion as it made her feel healthy, more mentally alert and had the ability to empower women.
“I was all for more of the business woman aspect of Miss America 2.0,” Thomas said. “But I think with removing the swimsuit, we lost some of that discipline and focus as it relates to being holistically healthy and taking care of your body physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.”
Gavankar also has experience competing in and judging swimsuit competitions herself and has her own take on it.
“I think that there are women who don't want to be judged literally in shoes and a swimsuit standing on stage under lights with a spray tan on,” Gavankar said. “I want to choose somebody healthy enough to do the rigorous job of Miss America. But I don't think that needs to be done in a swimsuit. I don't think that needs to be done in an onstage portion of the competition, I think there are different ways of assessing a woman's health and for that matter, mental health.”
This year, the Miss America Organization is making a shift from Miss America 2.0 to a currently unnamed version. While little information is publicly known, former contestants Motiwala, Gavankar, Thomas and Roberts, all speak to the elimination of the new social impact portion and the addition of a health and fitness aspect.
“They are actually bringing back the health and fitness component, not as swimsuit, but as athleisure,” Motiwala said. “So health and fitness is athletic wear, it’s athleisure. So it’s like a sports bra and either leggings or biker shorts. But they haven’t fully given any direction on that so we are all kind of in the same boat of this is just what we know.”
With the details of this new version still unclear, frustration has been sparked amongst former contestants about the lack of communication with stakeholders.
“I really would like to see the Miss America Organization get better at communicating their changes, their intentions and also asking questions among their most important stakeholders before they implement these wide sweeping changes,” Thomas said.
Some consider the new health and fitness component an attempt to solve the loss of viewers. When the swimsuit portion was repealed in 2018, a huge drop in viewership happened, including a loss of one million viewers from 2017 to 2018. By adding in a health and fitness portion, the competition seems to be trying to strike a compromise between traditional values of beauty, physique, and looks and modernizing the competition to fit with today’s standards of impact, knowledge and identity.
However, viewership is not the only struggle Miss America is facing. On top of changing with the times, the Organization has had an onslaught of scandals that create a stigma for the Organization itself. The sexist accusations against the organization, which were only further proved from former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell’s leaked emails fat-shaming and slut-shaming contestants, have not helped to improve the organization's image.
With these events happening in recent years, the image of the Miss America Organization has been different than it once was during its initial inception.
The first Miss DC was crowned in 1921 and after over 100 years of continuing this competition, the Miss America Organization has changed and revamped its image after years of controversy to fit with the times. Since the competition's creation, the Miss America crown has had four points, each representing service, style, scholarship and success. The pageant holds those four points as its core values that winners must uphold and represent, but as society becomes more progressive, the Miss America Organization has become less accepted by the general public.
“I think really getting back to the founding principles of why Miss America was created, what we're here to do, what the main purpose of the four points of the crown are and the fundamental values of the Organization is important before recalibrating any other changes,” Thomas said.
By taking away the social impact portion and adding in a health and fitness section, the Miss America Organization seems to be reverting back to its old ways, by highlighting the importance of beauty and looks over talent and impact.
The first requirements listed in the Miss DC 2020 contestant handbook are “highly articulate, attractive and talented.” However, the focus on looks does not end there. The list of requirements for the woman selected to be Miss District of Columbia says “she must look like a glamorous woman” and that a contestant “must look like her picture and be able to do that on her own.” While the requirements do focus on other attributes they look for in Miss DC, physical attractiveness is still a large part of the organization’s view of a woman. By including the health and fitness component as part of the competition, a stronger emphasis is being placed on looks and the Organization is taking a step backwards in its fight against sexism.
The future of the Miss America Organization is currently uncertain, with new leadership in charge, the direction of Miss America is unclear. The alarming drop in viewership against today’s modernization seems to be the largest problem for the organization, making it revert back to a competition that, while not swimsuit, still highlights looks and attractiveness over empowering female leaders.
“I've literally competed in every phase that they've had, other than this new one now that they're adding back in,” Roberts said. “And I am glad to see that they're bringing it back. But I’m glad it’s not so extreme where young women think they have to starve themselves or they have to have a perfect body. I'm really glad that it's emphasizing more of a healthy lifestyle and healthy living.”
Author’s note: Georgina DiNardo competed in the preliminary stages of Miss DC 2020, but dropped out due to the coronavirus pandemic before any on-stage competition portions.