Full confession: “Almost Famous” is the reason I became a writer. If you haven’t seen it (do it now), Cameron Crowe’s coming-of-age cult classic tells the story of a teenage Rolling Stone reporter in the 1970s as he covers/befriends a rock band on the brink of stardom.

Once I knew what I wanted to do, I declared myself a journalism major, worked my way up the college newspaper staff, and sought a gig with the local weekly. Post-college, I covered Mohave County news for Today’s News-Herald, a daily in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., too.

Below are some articles I wrote for The Lumberjack, Northern Arizona University’s weekly student newspaper. Here are some of my Flagstaff Live! stories: Flag Brew’s Bonnaroo and The End of Lobe. And although I have no idea where my clips from Lake Havasu wound up, I can sum up the tales from that town in seven words: retirees, Spring Break and shrinking water supply.

The next one earned an award from the Society of Professional Journalists.