Throughout college, Danielle worked extensively in various aspects of communication and journalism. In the summer of 2016, they interned for ThreeSixty, where they assisted in administrative work and wrote articles for their newspaper. They worked with the Marketing and Branding department at St. Thomas for three years and learned critical filming, lighting and production/editing skills. In the summer of 2017, Danielle interned at Minnesota Public Radio News and contributed to various news reports, as well as the Peabody Award-winning 74 Seconds podcast, which followed the trial of police officer Jeronimo Yanez after the shooting of Philando Castile.
Aside from journalistic pursuits, Danielle is passionate about advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion wherever they are. During their time at St. Thomas, they were involved with dozens of student organizations, including Asian Students in America (ASIA) Club as the Communications Coordinator, Feminist Community (FemCom) as a co-facilitator, and Ashoka U as a Changemaking Fellow. As an orientation leader and resident advisor, Danielle empowered underclassmen and learned important skills for themself like conflict mediation and guiding challenging conversations. Other notable advocacy projects are the campus-wide walk-out in honor of the Stoneman Douglas shooting, the "And Still We're Here" gallery to raise awareness and visibility for women of color victim-survivors, and the "I Believe You" music video in honor of sexual assault awareness month. In the spring semester of 2019, they took their classes abroad to National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan through CIEE's Communication, Business and Political Economy program. |
Danielle (she/any pronouns) is a 2020 graduate from the University of St. Thomas who loves thinking of new and creative ways to combine their background in journalism with their passion for justice. They believe that by pushing the boundaries of what we think multimedia storytelling can be, we are able to build common ground, new worlds and radically inclusive communities. Danielle is an eager self-starter, deadline-driven and detail-oriented writer, and culturally sensitive communicator who is looking for the next opportunity to leverage their unique skillsets in a long-term, impactful way.
Danielle's love of storytelling came to fruition through the performing arts. After getting involved with Stages Theatre Company in 2010, they went on to perform at the first Asian American theatre company in the midwest, Mu Performing Arts (now called Theatre Mu). It was here that Danielle began to embrace and celebrate their identities as a first-generation Asian American femme of Chinese Indonesian/Malaysian descent, and captured part of their journey with Mu through a blog sponsored by the theatre. Danielle was introduced to journalistic storytelling through ThreeSixty Journalism, a nonprofit program dedicated to equipping diverse youth with the tools to share the stories of their own communities. Through ThreeSixty, they reported on issues of teen safety, school violence and their own cultural identity. At just 13 years-old, Danielle won first place in the human interest category at the MNA College Better Newspaper Contest Awards with their article "No rest for the bleary," and just two years later, was selected to attend the Asian American Journalists Association's highly competitive nation-wide summer camp. In 2016, they were named the ThreeSixty Journalism Scholar and was awarded a full four-year tuition scholarship to the University of St. Thomas. Since becoming an alumni of ThreeSixty, Danielle has continued to give back to the program that helped them find their voice by empowering the next generation of storytellers, volunteering as a mentor and serving as the lead instructor for their 2019 Broadcast TV Summer Camp. |
Danielle has been recognized for their extensive involvement on campus as one of three senior finalists for the annual Tommie Award, as a recipient of The Good Sister Award and as a Campus Changemaker through a portrait gallery in the Anderson Student Center. In May 2020, Danielle graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a major in Communication and Journalism with a minor in Justice & Peace Studies. Due to COVID-19, they were unable to begin their photography internship at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, but was contracted for the month of May as a Digital Content Producer for MPR's Call to Mind initiative, which seeks to foster new conversations about mental health.
After working part-time for Amerigo Education as their Resident Advisor and freelancing in their free time, Danielle moved to Washington, D.C. in 2021 and became the Digital Content & Strategy Associate, Communications at the national civil rights non-profit Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. In 2022, they received a 9-month language scholarship from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education to study intensively in Taipei, allowing them to achieve a long-time dream of bringing their Chinese skills to a level that enriches how they serve their community in future careers. As the scholarship program comes to an end, Danielle is eagerly searching for the next opportunity to make a lasting impact.
After working part-time for Amerigo Education as their Resident Advisor and freelancing in their free time, Danielle moved to Washington, D.C. in 2021 and became the Digital Content & Strategy Associate, Communications at the national civil rights non-profit Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. In 2022, they received a 9-month language scholarship from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education to study intensively in Taipei, allowing them to achieve a long-time dream of bringing their Chinese skills to a level that enriches how they serve their community in future careers. As the scholarship program comes to an end, Danielle is eagerly searching for the next opportunity to make a lasting impact.