I'm a journalist in Little Rock, Arkansas. I cover public education for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
ali@adgnewsroom.com / amphinomid@gmail.com / amphinomid.15 (Signal)

I was drawn to Stanford by the allure of Silicon Valley; I spent my time there learning about computer systems and security and most importantly that I wanted nothing to do with tech or academia and (later) wanted out of California. Luckily I'd found journalism through the campus paper and fallen in love with it through a post-undergrad gig at Mission Local (supported, crucially, by a university grant). I was always lucky to have wonderful mentors. In the ensuing years I moved around some before landing my first real job back home; felt a freedom that I hadn't in years chasing academic validation, and that led me to quit a master's and turn down a Fulbright to stay; did all the things one does when twentysomething and going insane for the first time.