Vocalo Storytellers

teamvocalo:

Age: 24

Neighborhood: Pilsen

Full time gig: Reporter for the Daily Whale; Part-time Reference Aide at the UIC Library and Occasional Disney Princess at children’s birthday parties

Why did you join the Vocalo storytelling workshops?

After listening to radio obsessively for years I was very interested in knowing more about what goes into making radio, but I was so intimidated by the process. I didn’t know how to get started, what programs or equipment to use, anything. When I heard about the Vocalo workshop, I knew straightaway that I wanted to do it because I thought it would be the perfect introduction to everything I didn’t know. And it was! 

Your piece in 20 seconds:

Community efforts to rebrand the Chicago neighborhood of North Lawndale, which has struggled for decades with crime and low employment rates.

Why did you choose to tell this story:

My original piece was about a honey co-op that just happened to be located in North Lawndale. 

I didn’t know anything about the community at the time. As I learned more, I became more interested in the history of the community. I was amazed at how dramatically it had changed dramatically over the years to become what it is now and how it is seen now. I decided to leave the bees behind and pursue that theme instead.

In what ways are you a better storyteller or a producer?

I have a better appreciation for how a story should be told. I think about the audience more than I ever did before. I had only a vague appreciation of writing for an audience before the workshop. I know now that even if I have a really great story, until I find a way to tell it in a suspenseful, engaging way, the only person that will know it’s great is me. 

(via teamvocalo)