Portfolio

– CAREER HIGHLIGHTS –

Click the links below or in the main menu above to view a full list of work.

– SPJ AWARD WINNER –

“The Society of Professional Journalists is honored to present Sara Stanley with the 2022 Julie Galvan Outstanding Graduate in Journalism Award. Stanley graduated from Western Carolina University, where she served as the SPJ chapter president and was the editor-in-chief for The Western Carolinian…”

Read the full article here.

– VIDEO PRODUCER | CREATIVE DIRECTOR –

This is the first episode of a three-part series exploring the biology, culture, and revitalization efforts of rivercane in Western North Carolina. Sara Stanley completed this series in the Spring of 2021 while working as a Virtual Content Coordinator for The Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. She used a Canon Rebel T7i with a lavalier microphone for filming and Adobe Premiere Pro for editing.

Rivercane Renaissance: Episode One was featured and received a “Best in Show for Digital Media” award at a national interdisciplinary workshop, Indigenous Approaches to Rivercane Restoration, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The video is currently being shown as part of the Cherokee basketry exhibit, Weaving Across Time, on view at Asheville’s Center for Craft, 12/11/21 – 4/23/22.
-Pam Meister, Director of The Mountain Heritage Center

– DOCUMENTARIAN –

A short documentary featuring 12 interviews with a few of the people that work behind the scenes to make Mountain Heritage Day run smoothly. Stanley produced, edited, and directed all aspects of this video as a part of her Fall 2021 Internship with the Mountain Heritage Center.

– EDITOR IN CHIEF –

During her time as Editor-in-Chief, Sara Stanley worked to return The Western Carolinian, WCU’s student-led newspaper, to its print format after several years of dormancy. All print edition archives can be found here.

As editor-in-chief of The Western Carolinian, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chancellor Kelli Brown to discuss issues involving COVID-19 procedures, parking on campus, and goals for the semester. This video was shot and edited by the university’s video production team.

– SPJ MARK OF EXCELLENCE FINALIST –

Over 20% of children in Jackson County are food insecure

Infographic Credit: Sara Stanley

Published: Aug. 30, 2021

Presented at the 2021 Virtual SPJ Conference Breakout Session titled: Data Journalism in a day, week, and semester.

Click here to view the session.

Stanley submitted this article to the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2021 Mark of Excellence competition and was named a finalist in the Region 2 competition in the ‘in-depth reporting for a large university category.

Click here for the link to the official website.

– LIVE TV HOST –

On February 23, 2022, I hosted the first-ever live-streamed platform night for Western Carolina University’s Student Government Association. For two weeks prior, I worked with SGA to edit questions for each candidate, as well as working to refine a script that would serve as a transition between each candidate’s appearance. It was imperative that I stayed objective in my interactions and questioning, requiring me to be thoughtful when responding. The National Broadcasting Society ran the production of this shoot in the CAT TV studio on campus. We had three cameras in operation with lavalier and shotgun microphones. I used an IFB in-ear device to communicate with the studio during the shoot, as well as a teleprompter and timer for each candidate.

This project helped to strengthen my presence on camera, as well as my interviewing tactics and leadership abilities. I strive to maintain professionalism within my work and I believe this project is a great example of that.
-Sara Stanley

– Please click below to view more! –

Sara Stanley | sastanley18@gmail.com | (336)-830-0316