hi, I'm dre!
I’m a multimedia storyteller with a deep background in English literature and analysis, passionate about exploring the human, cultural, and artistic threads that shape our world — and the natural places we share it with. Through writing, photography, and video, I aim to create work that connects people to each other and to the stories that matter.
Fellowship
Planet Forward Mystic Aquarium Fellow
I am honored to be currently serving as Planet Forward Mystic Aquarium Fellow (ending July 29, 2025), where I pitch, create, and edit weekly videos and multimedia stories focused on ocean conservation. Throughout the summer, I’m also working toward producing a final short documentary as my end-of-fellowship capstone project.
Student Short Doc
fifty million mussels
In Spring 2024, I co-directed a student short film titled "fifty million mussels" — a character-driven short doc about a D.C. nonprofit’s ambitious effort to restore the Potomac River with freshwater mussels.
Interviewing
Conversation with Peter Schwartzstein
I researched, crafted questions, and conducted this on-camera interview with climate security journalist and author
Peter Schwartzstein, showcasing my interviewing skills.
Reporting
Published Journalism
During my time at The George Washington University, I took supplemental reporting courses at the School of Media and Public Affairs under the mentorship, editorial guidance, and teachings of my journalism professors. The pieces linked below are two stories I had the opportunity to publish as a student, reflecting my commitment to community-centered storytelling and arts coverage.
student moderator
Panel Discussion
In April 2025, I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion at The George Washington University, hosted by Spitfire Strategies in partnership with Patagonia. This event kicked off the book tour for Patagonia’s latest release, Tools to Save Our Home Planet: A Changemaker’s Guide Book, and brought together communicators and changemakers to share strategies for building trust, inspiring action, and making environmental storytelling more accessible. (Intro highlights from 0:23–1:31)
Vertical Videomaking
Mobile Videomaking for the Planet
A collection of short-form videos I produced for my Spring 2025 GWU course titled "Mobile Videomaking for the Planet" taught by Professor Eli Kintisch. These pieces showcase creative, accessible environmental storytelling designed for social platforms like TikTok and IG Reels
I knew I wanted to major in English ever since freshman year of high school, inspired by teachers who nurtured my love for reading and writing. At GWU, I explored 18th-century Black literature, the Harlem Renaissance, environmental literature, and Victorian gothic fiction, focusing on close reading, deep analysis, and advanced literary research. Below is a selection of three of my highest-graded essays.
Selected Essays
Blossoming Sexualities: Queer Ecological Illumination in Randall Kenan’s A Visitation of Spirits
Final paper for Spring 2024 “Gender and Literature” course taught by Professor Robert McRuer. Examines Randall Kenan’s A Visitation of Spirits through a queer ecological lens. Written in May 2024.
The Limits of Respectability: The Fate of Black Futurity in The Marrow of Tradition
Paper for Fall 2024 “Intro to Black American Literature” taught by Professor Jennifer James (who was also my mentor). This analytical paper includes close readings of Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and his characters' interactions with respectability politics of the post-Reconstruction South.
Trans-corporeal Testimonies: Archives of Environmental Violence and Resistance
Final paper for the master’s-level course I took in my senior year at GWU titled “Writing, Race, and Nation: Transnational Ecologies,” also taught by Professor Jennifer James. This final assignment is an in-depth multimedia and literary analysis of the intersection of transcorporeality and Black multigenerational storytelling.