Ria Lowenschuss
Writer, Reporter, Editor-in-Chief
MIPA All-State Journalist Consideration
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This article received second place for News or Feature Social Media Coverage in the MIPA 2022 Awards. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 48, Ed. 3 and then on "The Communicator" Instagram.
This news feature explores a new history teacher at CHS, Joslyn Hunscher-Young, and how she is using her knowledge and the community's resources to teach her students hands-on history. In particular, the article focuses on a new history class created by Hunscher-Young called African American Studies, which focuses on the Black community throughout Ann Arbor's history.
This piece won second place as a feature column in the 2021 MIPA Awards. Published on "The Communicator Online."
Along with another journalist on staff at The Communicator, Geneve Thomas-Palmer, I wrote a series of feature stories on the women in the highest band in Community High School's band program. This story was on Sophia Svinicki, a bassist in Jazz 4 who struggles with binge eating. I spent hours texting with Sophia after our Zoom interview. We talked about her first experiences with music, on the toy piano in her basement. She told me how jazz is a replacement for her binge eating — she calls it "jazz binging." I loved being able to share her story for her.
This piece won second place for diversity coverage in news writing for the 2021 MIPA Awards. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 47, Ed. 3.
Along with my fellow journalist, Ella Rosewarne, I wrote a piece on teenagers with different religious views than their families. We explored how religion created conflict within familial settings, and how the pandemic affected their religious connections. As an agnostic Jew, it was extremely interesting to talk to people my age on their experiences with religion.
This piece won first place for Environmental, Health or Science for the 2021 MIPA Awards. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 48, Ed. 1.
This feature story was published in our first print edition of the 2021-2022 school year. It explores how eating disorders exploded during quarantine, especially in teenagers. I talked to Chrissy Kuiper, a senior at CHS, who struggled with over-exercising and under-eating throughout our online year of school. I also interviewed two therapists who specialize in eating disorders and learned about coping mechanisms. I appreciated learning about eating disorders from someone who had been personally affected by one.
For this article, I spent almost an hour interviewing Ryan Thomas-Palmer, an up-and-coming artist who happens to go to CHS. Before we began, she warned me that she wasn't good at interviews. After I clicked record, she wouldn't stop talking. She told me about how she got into drawing and her medium of choice, as well of more personal facts, like how, when she was in middle school, she hurt her elbow and had to have surgery, therefore preventing her from being a gymnast. Without gymnastics to keep her company, she turned to art.
This piece won second place for opinion writing in NSPA Clips and Clicks 2021. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 47, Ed. 1.
In the first ever article that I wrote for The Communicator, I explored accessible birth control and how it affects teens. When this article was written, Justice Amy Coney Barrett had just been appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. This posed a threat for the Affordable Care Act and, in extension, accessible birth control. As a person who uses birth control to stop my debilitating period cramps, accessible birth control — and reproductive health in general – is an issue that will always be important to me.
This piece won second place for personal narrative in the MIPA 2021 Awards. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 47, Ed. 2.
I wrote this narrative about my experiences with gay marriage as a queer woman, and how it has affected me throughout my life. I wrote about Supreme Court decisions and State constitutions, as well as about the experiences of queer people throughout the centuries. This piece helped me learn more about the queer community, as well as the fragility of the rights we have been granted.
This piece won second place for personal narrative in the MIPA 2022 Awards. Published in "The Communicator Online."
The day before I started my junior year of high school, my friend and I went out for ice cream. It was supposed to be celebratory, an anticipatory treat for all the hard work we were about to do. Instead, we were harassed by a stranger while we were waiting in line. This has happened before. Men comment on our bodies constantly. How does this affect us and our sense of control and autonomy?
This piece won first place for opinion writing in NSPA Clips and Clicks 2022. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 48, Ed. 4.
I wrote this piece at a time when I was feeling helpless, desperate and alone. Roe v. Wade was on the verge of being overturned and I had no idea how to help or what to do. So I put my feelings onto the page. I wrote from my perspective as a queer woman, as a person who is unlikely to ever need an abortion in my lifetime. I wrote about my anger and the injustice and hopefully, this piece helped at least one person who was feeling the same way as me.
This piece received an honorable mention for a media review in the MIPA 2021 Awards. Published in "The Communicator Magazine" Volume 47, Ed. 3.
During sophomore year, I was stuck at home like all of my peers and desperate for a distraction. While looking through Hulu one day, I found a television show: "Veronica Mars." I knew I had to watch it — it starred old-school Kristen Bell! I wrote a review exploring how "Veronica Mars" subverts gender roles and racial stereotypes while presenting a valuable commentary on socioeconomic status, all in the neat package of a mystery-comedy.
This article was the beginning of my "Books That Change Lives" constant, which is a series of in-depth features on community members and how books have influenced their lives. the first installment featured Abby Frank, a CHS junior who talked about how reading helped her deal with her anxiety disorder. As someone who loves books and believes they can change lives, being able to talk to people about their own experiences was extremely valuable.
When Boygenius, the band dubbed the "world's most exciting supergroup," announced their upcoming album by releasing three singles, I was beyond excited. As an avid Phoebe Bridgers fan, I had to get my thoughts on paper and share my opinions. I ended up writing a review of the three released songs, as well as a reflection on what this music means to me as I near my final months of high school.