We Can Do Hard Things – by Emma Steele

We Can Do Hard Things

by Emma Steele

To view the entire story visit: We Can Do Hard Things

“You’ll never get over it. You don’t want to,” Davidson said. “It changes you.”

Randall Davidson brings roses to his wife Megan’s grave every Sunday. “Roses symbolize love,” Davidson said.

“There’s a part of me that hasn’t accepted it,” Davidson said. Randy has been left to raise their 8-year-old son, Drew, while still living with the grief of losing the love of his life.

Megan died on July 27th, 2019 from a fatal car accident. Her death affected the lives of all 1,000 people who showed up to her funeral service. Megan was a wife, mother, nurse, church minister, and athlete, and was loved by everyone she met.

Randall Davidson lost his wife, Megan, on July 27th 2019 in a fatal car accident. Every Sunday Randall brings flowers to Megans grave in Tompkinsville. “You’ll never get over it”, Davidson said, “You don’t want to.”

Drew taking a break from his video game to look at pictures of him and his mom. “Every time Megan was on the couch trying to relax, Drew would always jump up on her and try to get her attention. He loves his mom,” Davidson said.

Every night, Randy reads bedtime stories and says prayers with Drew. “He’s the reason I’m still breathing,” Davidson said.

Family Values – A look at the roll of a midwife in Kentucky.

Family Values – A look at the roll of a midwife in Kentucky.

Story by Lily Thompson,

To view the entire story visit: Family Values

Tracey Moore is a midwife, and so much more.

With kind eyes and a mother’s touch, Tracey catches babies around the western and central regions of Kentucky. She is on call 24/7, 52 weeks a year. She’s a home birth midwife, one of few in the state. Tracey helps women of all kinds, she wants each and every woman to feel respected and loved through one of the most sacred moments of their life.

Tracey checks “baby noodle’s” heartbeat in Rosie Hunt’s belly. The couple didn’t pick a name for their baby until after the birth and lovingly referred to the baby as “baby noodle.”

June Hunt was born at 7:13 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2019 to Rosie and Alex Hunt. June was born on the same couch her older sister was born a couple of years before.

Tracey leans on her husband for comfort after telling him about a complicated and upsetting birth she had attended hours before. She had to leave the house early in the morning to attend to the birth, and missed church and an outing with her family due to midwifery commitments. “For us, faith in christ has been the solid rock we’ve needed, because it’s not been always been easy,” David said. “That faith has helped us have grace. When couples have hard times, they can either break or build together. Midwifery has shown us in our hearts where we were at with each other and challenged us to be better in Christ.”

The Wrongful Imprisonment of Jose Luis Garcia

The Wrongful Imprisonment of
Jose Luis Garcia

Story by Gabriel Scarlett and Skyler Ballard

Residing in in the Unites States for 50 years and a current green card holder, Jose Luis Garcia was arrested by ICE as part of a new Trump administration policy targeting legal and illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds. The policy put in place to deport gang members ended up arresting people like 62-year-old Garcia who had a minor infraction 17 years ago.
For the complete story visit:

 

Jose watches fireworks from his rooftop on July 4th. For weeks after his imprisonment, he suffered from nightmares and sleepless nights. But he remains positive and says that achieving his full citizenship is his number one priority. “I will continue to do the right things with my family and I will become a U.S. citizen in no time.”

 

More than a week after the arrest of her father Jose (who is a green card holder), Natalie Garcia tries to console her daughter Marley outside their home in Arleta, California from which Jose was taken. He had been watering his lawn and preparing for a shift driving for Uber, one of his three jobs, when ICE officials detained him for deportation for a charge from two decades ago. Since his arrest, Marley has slept in his bed and lays out his clothes each day to pretend that he is there.

The Pain We Cause

The Pain We Cause:

The entanglement of addiction and incarceration in Kentucky, told in two parts.

By Morgan Hornsby and Gabriel Scarlett

Upon her release from jail for drug-related offenses, Amy McKeown struggles to adjust to life at a home with a family she has alienated during decades of addiction.
At the Warren County Jail, volunteers and staffers try to prepare inmates for reentry into society, but the challenges of life on the outside still prove daunting for most.

 

Once a month, the Warren County Jail allows local churches to come to the facility to hold a baptism service for inmates who wish to participate. Part of Miles’ job is to coordinate with local groups, like churches, recovery groups, local businesses, and a community college

WKUPJ Senior Skyler Ballard tells a story of immigration

En Muerto En Vida

BY SKYLER BALLARD

In the thirteen years that Jorge and Christina Zaldivar have been married, the family has been fighting for Jorge’s legal residency in the U.S. With a changing administration and an increasing focus on ICE and immigration policies, the family fears that Jorge’s time in the U.S. will soon be up.

Ballard began documenting the family during her summer internship at The Denver Post. See the entire story here.

 

Gabriel Scarlett interviewed by Alexia Foundation on his “Flock of Doves” Project.

WKUPJ student Gabriel Scarlett was interviewed by the Alexia Foundation about his project, Flock of Doves, which explores “the intersection of gang violence and a community of voices demanding change in Pueblo, Colorado.” Scarlett, a senior in the photojournalism program, elaborated on how the project came to be, his goals for the project, and his future endeavors in the world of photojournalism. You can read Scarlett’s full interview here


Julian Rodriguez plays with his son Christopher at their home on Pueblo’s East Side. Julian’s decades long struggle with addiction brought him intimately close to the gang operations as he often bought from and sold for the gangs in order to support his own addiction. With his son, Christopher on the way, he achieved sobriety and had his facial skeleton tattooed to remember his commitment to his son and to commemorate his brother “Bone Head” who was killed in a shootout with the police. “Everything that I desire and want in this life is for that boy.” Christopher will grow up on the East Side, in Duke territory, but Julian hopes that a loving relationship with his father can keep him from that lifestyle. | Gabriel Scarlett

Michelle Hanks chosen to attend Danish School of Media and Journalism

Michelle Hanks has been chosen to attend the Danish School of Media and Journalism this spring as part of an exchange program used to give students a chance of engaging in visual storytelling internationally.  The program, now in its 5th year, as brought students from Denmark to attend classes at WKU and in return has sent several of our students to Denmark for a semester.

Hanks, from Chattanooga, TN, is in her Junior year as a Photojournalism major.

This Fall Hanks documented Natasha a young mother battling with recovery with the hope of getting custody of her 4-month old baby. Her child was taken away from her four days after birth, because of her addiction to drugs.

Through Our Eyes Week 2

Below are some of our favorite photos from this week’s Through Our Eyes. Each week the selections are chosen by WKUPJ students. Stay tuned for more to come!

First Place

Rango, 33, squeezes back into the Mexico side of the border in La Playa in Tijuana, Baja California. Rango, who recently was living in the United States illegally was deported to Mexico after living most of his life in Sacramento. He demonstrated to a group of friends how easy someone can squeeze through the border fence. After people recorded videos of him on the San Diego side, he struggled to get back onto the Mexico side of the border. The day before, a Tijuana resident who was also deported commented “I may cross the border just one more time. When I was first deported they took my tablet, phone, wallet, clothes, nikes, X-Box, everything I own. I just want to see the beach again on the other side. I just want to see my family living in the United States. Making an affordable income and living life without having to be as cautious,” another deported citizen said.| Michael Blackshire

Through Our Eyes Week 1

Below are some of our favorite photos from this week’s Through Our Eyes. Each week the selections are chosen by WKUPJ students. Stay tuned for more to come!

First Place

Saran Thompson got vitiligo when he was 23-years-old, he’s now 28. Thompson is a hip-hop and spoken word artist who uses his platform to provide representation for young kids who might be dealing with vitiligo as well. “The key is to be unapologetically you. When you are comfortable in your skin the thoughts of people will change. What stays consistent is what you think of yourself,” he said. | Ebony Cox

Runner Up

Austin Minton, 22, is an engineering student at Vermont Thread Gage and is dressed up as Jason Vorhees part 6 version at the Vette City Con in Bowling Green, Ky., At the National Corvette Museum on Sat. Jan 26, 2019. Minton has a background of being bullied as a kid and chose his favorite slasher villian. “Jason taught me to not let the bullies get to you,” said Minton. “Be yourself and don’t try to be like everyone. Be who you are.” This is Minton’s second year at the Vette City Con and comes to these events to show support to other creators and his passion for it. | Tyger Williams

Honorable Mentions

James Muchina was our driver for the trip. We blistered up and down the red dirt roads for 18 days so many of us developed an attachment to James and our van. To the kids, James and his van meant the Americans were coming to the village. This is an artists rendition of our van titled, “America Car.” | Reed Mattison