Max Arnold’s Portfolio
Writing & Reporting
"Vape Nation"
“Vape Nation” was the first story I ever wrote as a part of our school's newspaper staff, the Mill Stream. This story was a four page spread tackling the issue of student addiction and the marketing tactics that were clearly targeting a youthful audience. In the reporting for this story, I worked with school resource officers, staff members at Noblesville, students at Noblesville, and addiction recovery specialists in order to find the whole truth of the story. In addition, I reached out to multiple state representatives who declined to comment. This story debuted as a four page spread and the cover story of the first issue of the 2023-2024 school year. To learn more about this issue, click here or the image to the left.
"Prodigal Son"
“Prodigal Son” tells the story of the relationship between two coaches of the Noblesville distance running program, Bill Kenley and Blake Dircksen. Kenley was once Dirksen's coach, and now the two are as close as brothers. In preparing for this story, I had long conversations with Kenley and Dircksen, both together and separately in order to get the full truth of the story. To learn more about the duo tearing up NHS record books, click here or on the image to the right
"A Marathon Everyday"
“A Marathon Everyday” tells the heartwarming story of husband and wife marathoners Amy and Jamie Shinnemen. The story tells of the Shinnemen's quest to complete every world marathon to raise charity for an organization founded by the two, Humbly Courageous. Humbly Courageous is a blog and charity the Shinnemens founded to raise money for a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy that leaves Amy unable to walk without support. Click here or on the image to learn more about the Shinnemens and their story.
"Toboggan Travels"
“Toboggan Travels” is a story from Mill Stream’s most recent issue. It tells the story of four football players at Noblesville High School who work together to create a toboggan team to compete at the Toboggan National Championships in Camden, Maine. The boys picked up the untraditional sport from a local woodworker and began to work alongside him to build their own racing sled from scratch. That first competition was two years ago, and the boys are currently working towards their third competition. Click here or on the image to the right to learn more about their journey.
