Media Innovation Group Data Fellows

In Fall 2022, the Media Innovation Group started an initiative to connect students with data driven stories. Professor McDonald hired a group of Data Fellows to work on various projects that involve and utilize data from databases across the state. The Fellows' main focus has been building a searchable database of local campaign finances since 2020. Each fellow works in a different area of research from extracting and organizing data to presenting data in a podcast format. We are excited to see where the local campaign finances project takes our fellows, and we look forward to sharing our findings.

Karina Kumar - Data Fellows Editor

Journalism Senior with Certificate in Elements of Computing
Hometown: Austin, TX

I was previously a student technician for the Media Innovation Group, where I tested the best way to ask for public information from school districts and help organize the assignment for other students to also request public information. So far, I’ve learned a lot about how to interact with school districts and other groups when requesting public information. The process can sometimes be really easy when you ask in the right way and they want to help, but other times it can be really hard to get the documents you need, so learning how to do it properly has been super helpful. I’ve also learned a lot about different techniques of pulling data from PDFs such as Google PinPoint.

I’m really excited for other journalists to hopefully be able to use the documents we are compiling. This project has taken a lot of turns when it comes to the ultimate goal but one that has always remained is making the local campaign finance reports more accessible to other journalists so they can get to the data and find stories to write about.

Maria Probert Hermosillo

Journalism and Economics Senior
Hometown: Monterrey, MX

In the past, I have done work involving audience engagement and editorial, so I am excited to further develop my data skills as a data fellow. A fun fact about me is that I'm a fitness instructor at UT Recsports and I love to read.

Aislyn Gaddis

Journalism Senior with Certificate in Elements of Computing and Certificate in Core Texts and Ideas
Hometown: Grapevine, TX

I co-produce and edit the Data Dives podcast along with being a regular data fellow. So far, I’ve learned how to turn data stories into an easily digestible audio format, and I look forward to continuing to learn how to make data stories more accessible.

Olivia Dilley

Journalism Senior with a minor in Law, Justice and Society
Hometown: Flower Mound, TX

A fun fact about me is that I run an antique booth! In my free time, I enjoy writing, reading, photography, and exploring the city with my friends. I’m super excited to learn more about data and how to work with it!

Yasmin Garcia

Journalism and Radio-Television-Film Senior
Hometown: Rio Grande City, TX

Within the Media Innovation Group, I assisted in submitting public information requests for local campaign finance reports and manually entering data to help journalists discover potential stories based on our findings. This semester, I am eager to contribute to both team and individual projects, focusing on researching, cleaning, and analyzing data to develop impactful, data-driven stories for local and state audiences.

Ali Juell

Journalism Senior with a Government minor
Hometown: Granite Bay, CA

I enjoy running and cooking in my free time. I love exploring Austin by finding cool new restaurants or coffee shops. I'm excited to make the most of my last year at UT, including growing as a data journalist in my role here.

Sarah Brager

Journalism senior
Hometown: Buda, TX

I will be co-hosting and co-producing the Data Dives podcast this semester. We report data-driven stories and turn them into interesting and entertaining podcast episodes. I'm excited to get more experience with cleaning and sorting data as well as podcast scripting and editing. I became interested in the collaboration between journalism and data science after taking Professor McDonald's Reporting With Data class during my sophomore year. Since then, I've taken Intro Coding for Journalists and am now trying to learn Python. Outside of work and school, I love to spend time outdoors, and my fun fact is that I biked from Austin to Alaska this summer!

Ella Barnes

Journalism Senior
Hometown: Houston, TX

This is my first semester as a Data Fellow, and I’m incredibly excited to be a part of this team. A little bit about me is that I enjoy photography, thrifting, and blasting Taylor Swift while driving my classic Mini. I can’t wait to learn more about data through this experience!

Johan Villatoro

Journalism Senior with a minor in Sports Media
Hometown: Katy, TX

I’m excited to start new projects and bring ideas to life from scratch. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, watching sports, or trying out new cooking recipes. I’m passionate about creating and love the process of turning something small into something special.

Isabella Zeff

Journalism senior with a minor in media studies
Hometown: Coppell, TX

I'm currently the projects editor at The Daily Texan and an editorial intern with Texas Connect. I've worked at Texas Monthly and in the news and life & arts departments at the Texan, writing about everything from the Texas Legislature to student YouTubers. In my free time, I enjoy watching movies, trying new restaurants and spending too much money at bookstores. I'm excited to use data to uncover new stories and investigate issues facing Texans in a deeper way.

Pearson Neal

Journalism senior with sports media minor
Hometown: Kyle, TX

I am excited to be able to continue working with data. In my free time I like to watch sports, read, and build legos. An interesting thing about me is that I used to raise chickens.