“Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else can.” – Nelson Mandela

I consider myself a curious person, with varied interests. But I am really only passionate about a few things, the main one being sports. I come from a family of academics, where sports was never really emphasized. I struggled to find a sport that I truly excelled at, and dabbled in different activities until I found ones I was decent at. For about 5 years, I dedicated myself to gymnastics and came to a halt when I was 16 and too old to compete. From 8th grade on throughout high school I played tennis, competitively and recreationally. In college, I discovered and fell in love with the sport of rugby and played with the Georgetown Women’s Rugby team for 4 years. Ever since, I have grown an immense amount of respect and admiration for athletes of all shapes and sizes, with a strong emphasis on the rugby world.

For me, sports is about much more than athleticism. I enjoy sports for the challenges they pose and the opportunities they provide to excel and to become strong and confident. At the end of the day, I’m interested in how sports change peoples’ lives – those that play them and those that enjoy them. More specifically, I’m passionate about youth development through sports and how these games  empower children and teens to take control of their lives and form their identities.

Because of the action and movement involved, sports are best seen live. But sometimes we don’t have the luxury of seeing sports in all their glory, so the second best option is experiencing them through the media. Sports exposure through media takes several forms. Video, photography, writing, and design can translate several aspects of sports but never the full 360º experience. In this sense, the media artist and educator has the challenge of capturing either a single element or as much as possible to convey the sport and the game to their audience. Media also plays an extremely important role in transmitting sports coverage all over the world. By documenting and distributing videos and other materials covering new sports, the future generations of athletes can start to discover the magic of sports and begin to chase their dreams.

I began this web portfolio in my graduate program with the intention of documenting some of my interaction with sports and the active lifestyle of New Yorkers (and people all over the world). I took a mediated approach to observe people being active, athletes and non-athletes alike. The main inspiration for my initial work was McCarren Park in Brooklyn, NY, a sports hub hosting all sorts of games and activities like rugby and skateboarding. I continued to create projects on sports and youth development around the world, such as the work I did in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the Summer 2012. This portfolio was also a place where I chronicled my work in other areas of media and sports, including the research for my graduate thesis on rugby and media exposure, and the future of the sport in regards to it’s return at the Olympic Games.

With my studies done and less time to dedicate to extracurriculars, my media work consists of fewer projects but nevertheless ones related to my passions and interests. I hope to keep writing and producing as much as possible, putting to use the skills I’ve acquired through my education and life experiences.

[Last updated August 2013]