photo – ellie cruz

I have worked for the Daily Tar Heel, UNC Chapel Hill’s student-run newspaper. I have also worked for Film Fest 919, a film festival based in Chapel Hill that showcases films that eventually make it to Sundance, South by Southwest, and even the Oscars.

daily tar heel

Louis Van Houtven, 17-year-old guitarist and vocalist for Pajama Day, sings on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020.
Nick Curee, a 24-year-old Nashville native, prepares a drink at Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews on Dec. 3, 2019.
Essi Novelli, a 20-year-old singer from Raleigh, watches a performance at the Pinhook on Dec. 2, 2019.
Emily Orland, a first-year history and journalism double major, and Brynn Garner, a junior environmental science and history double major, are instructed by Professor Katherine Turk in Wilson Library on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020.
Professor Jim Ketch conducts the UNC Jazz Band in Kenan Music Building on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020.
Caitlin Davis, a first year psychology major, poses in front of the Undergraduate Library on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. Davis founded the UNC-CH Students Against Sex Trafficking.
Emma Spears, a junior psychology and sociology double major, poses for a portrait by Carroll Hall on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. Spears is the copyediting director for Coulture.
Nitara Kittles, a sophomore studio art major, poses in Wilson Library on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Kittles is wearing an outfit she made herself.
Sophomore outfielder Justice Thompson prepares to hit the ball in a game against University of Virginia on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. The Tar Heels won 2-1.
Ben Goldman, a former UNC student, reads poetry in the Pit on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Goldman is pictured here reading works by Billy Collins.
Jim Kitchen shows the stamps in one of his passports in his office on Franklin Street on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Kitchen has visited all 193 United Nations-recognized countries and wants to go to space next.

film fest 919

polaroids in a pandemic

portraiture

Christian Ocana poses as Danny Phantom, the main protagonist of a Nickelodeon show from the early 2000s. Ocana fondly remembers the show and watching it as a child.
(from left to right) Maris Ava Cruz, Tessa McGuire, and Xochi-Dante Ramos Lara pose as the titular Powerpuff Girls from Cartoon Network's show. Cruz said, "I thought we were pretty perfect to be these characters - I'm a ditzy Bubbles, Tessa is a bold Blossom, and X is an edgy Buttercup."
(from left to right) MaryBeth Thomas, Ariana Reid, and Lauren Mobley pose as characters from Cartoon Network's Adventure Time.
Sarah Burtner poses for a portrait with their hands wrapped. Burtner has been wanting to get more involved with boxing, saying that it's been a passion of theirs for about a year now.
Aysha Diallo poses for a portrait with a vinyl record. Diallo is the station manager at 89.3 WXYC Chapel Hill, UNC's student-led radio station.
Parker Brown poses for a portrait with her camera in hand. Brown says
Maris Ava Cruz poses for a portrait with her guitar. "It's always been about men. If I asked you to name ten great musicians, how many of them would be women?" Cruz said of the sexism within music.
Tessa McGuire poses for a portrait with her Nintendo Switch. "I have literally given up on going to GameStop anymore," McGuire said of her negative experiences within the gaming community.
Caspian Bautista poses for a portrait with a keyboard. Bautista is a computer science major, which is a predominantly cishet white male industry.