1st Place, Personality Profile
2021-22, Division 3, News Writing
By Ainsley Newcomb & Emily Zawacki
Focus
Midland HS
Between performing and working as a barista, Senior Jolie Wing has spent most of her time at Live Oak Coffeehouse, which feels like home to her. Wing has performed at various places including the Midland Farmers Market, art festivals, and weddings, but the coffee shop that opened in 2016 remains one of her favorite places to perform.
Music has been around Wing and her family for as long as she can remember. With her father, Eric Wing, having a degree in music and writing, she has grown up with music being a big part of her life.
“We’ve had music in our home forever,” Eric said. “We’ve shared making music just for fun; it’s a comfortable place for our family.”
Music is one of the creative outlets Wing uses. She especially enjoys writing her own lyrics. Wing finds herself writing personal songs about the highs and lows in her life. So she finds herself questioning whether to share them or not.
“Sometimes the songs are super personal and it’s really hard to share those,” Jolie said. “But I don’t want to keep those to myself either. I know if I share one of my songs people are going to ask me what it was about; I have to make the decision on if I’m ready to share some of those.”
By both working and performing at Live Oak, Jolie has formed strong relationships with the people and the environment at the coffee shop.
“That place is my home,” Jolie said. “All of the employees are my favorite people in the world. I can talk about anything or any issues I have; I just feel so accepted there.”
Boss Renee Deckrow, has been able to see as Jolie brings a sense of comfort to Live Oak everyday she works
“Jolie always makes you feel very seen and welcome,” Deckrow said. “Everybody always says when they work with her she’s very calm-it just creates a calming atmosphere.”
Megan Murphy, Jolie’s co-worker and close friend, agrees on Jolie bringing positivity and a feeling of comfort to the people around her.
“I think she brightens the room a little bit, no matter who’s in it,” Murphy said. “She also, brings a sense of comfort to everyone. She wants everyone to feel loved.”
One of Jolie’s favorite parts of performing is seeing the reactions of her songs from the crowd. Since each song she writes is personal to her, she enjoys that she gets to share her story with the audience.
“I like sharing and seeing people connect to it and start to see things in themselves that maybe they wouldn’t have noticed if they hadn’t heard those words or songs,” Jolie said.
Her dad, Eric, has had the privilege of watching Jolie grow in her music and song writing skills throughout the years. He admires how real and open she is about the struggles in her life, which can be difficult for many musicians.
“There’s a great risk when you are being creative,” Eric said. “There’s pressure to not be honest and to just be safe, and she’s honest. I’m proud of her in a lot of ways: her character, her personality when she’s navigated some hard things, she still chooses to find joy and have fun making music.”
While the Live Oak staff will miss Jolie and all that she adds to the “family” after high school, they are excited to see what lies ahead of her.
“We just feel honored that she has been a part of our Live Oak family,” Deckrow said. “We’re excited for her and all the things that are in her future, but we will definitely miss her.”
NW-15. Personality Profile
The personality profile captures the life, interests, accomplishments of well-known or interesting people, based on interviews from multiple sources. The subject(s) should have experiences, thoughts and accomplishments worth reporting. Anecdotes add to the personality profile.
Judging Criteria
- Lead captures attention, arouses curiosity; reason for sketch is made clear early in story
- Emphasizes fresh angle; individualizes person
- Colorful, lively presentation; effective form/style
- Descriptive writing demonstrates the concept of “show, don’t tell”
- Reflects adequate research, sound interviewing techniques from a variety of sources
- Avoids encyclopedic listing of subject’s accomplishments
- Effective use of quotes
- Interesting; appeals to the emotions
- Proper diction/grammar