Featured Stories
Long-form, immersive stories that tell a national narrative through the eyes of someone close to home are my passion.
Charlottesville Police Officer Katie McKeown hugs her six-year-old son, Cruz, after graduating from the police academy. (Ryan Kelly/The Daily Progress)
'I have to do this': In male-dominated field, female officer strikes balance in serving public
Nationwide, women make up less than 12 percent of sworn law enforcement officers. Male officers are nine times more likely to be disciplined for excessive force issues, while women officers are much less likely to use excessive physical force or discharge their firearm.
For more than a year, I followed Katie McKeown — a 27-year-old single mom — as she went through the Central Shenandoah Criminal Justice Training Academy and additional rigorous trainings to become a Charlottesville police officer.
““At times, I get on calls and I just let people talk — sometimes they just need someone to talk to. I’m going to listen to you. I’m not just going to come in and be a badass.””
Monticello working to restore Sally Hemings' room, once a men's bathroom
Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is working to tell the stories of the hundreds of enslaved people owned by the third president. New archaeological digs are working to shed light on a space that once housed Sally Hemings, the enslaved woman with whom Thomas Jefferson fathered several children. The new exhibit will focus on Hemings' life and what it was like for the enslaved individuals forced to work at Monticello.
““Hemings was someone who had seen more of the world than the vast majority of a lot of free people, even.””
Archaeologists at Monticello work to restore a space that was once used to as a kitchen, and then later as space for enslaved families. (Ryan Kelly/The Daily Progress)
Tiffany Abentroth, left, and Marie Taylor, right, both joined the U.S. Marine Corps as young women looking for a challenge. (Lauren Berg/The Daily Progress)
American Legion to celebrate 100 years of women in the Marines
Women make up about 8 percent of the Marine Corps. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Corps opening its doors to women recruits. Tiffany Abentroth and Marie Taylor became Marines decades apart and experienced unique challenges on their way to earning the eagle, globe and anchor.
““The Marine Corps was the challenge. The rest of the branches seemed sort of — I wouldn’t say ‘easy’ — but they seemed easy.””