“That really developed my voice and interest in writing,” Allison said.

In high school, Allison expanded on her talent by writing for the school newspaper her junior and senior years. She continued to write creatively, publishing one memorable satirical piece about incorporating nap time in between classes. 

Then, wanting to attend a small liberal arts college, Allison decided on Western Washington University as her school of choice. There, she attended Fairhaven College with a concentration in psychology and creative non-fiction playwriting while also pursuing a degree in visual journalism and minoring in French. 

While writing plays in some classes, Allison also enjoyed the challenge of reporting and the logical style of news writing in others. Though becoming a journalist was never her dream, Allison said reporting the facts was a good fit for her perfectionist personality. The hands-on style of journalism classes WWU offered forced Allison to overcome her introvertedness and made her realize she could pursue news writing as a career. 

“They just throw you into what reporting is,” Allison said. “Which was really valuable versus just sitting in a classroom and talking.”

Four months after her college graduation, Allison landed a job at the Anacortes American in April of 2017. What started as a part-time position became full-time the following fall. Allison was once again thrust into hands-on reporting and it was at this job where she covered a story that would come to shape her as a journalist.

In May of 2017, Allison’s first story of what became a two year series, covering a fishing trawler manufactured by Dakota Creek Industries, was published. The ongoing story involved Dakota Creek pursuing a waiver from Congress in order for the ship to be qualified to fish in U.S. waters, after a manufacturing mistake conflicted with the law. Allison was covering the business beat at the time and as such, was “thrown into” the assignment with little professional experience.

Because Allison was in close proximity to the Anacortes based ship manufacturer, she was able to develop strong relationships with her sources. Papers like The Seattle Times and The Wall Street Journal wrote similar stories about the incident, but they could not compare to Allison’s local angle. When the ship was eventually granted the waiver, Allison was even invited aboard. 

“It was really meaningful to be able to have people trust you with really serious, high stakes stuff, tell their story and give you information,” Allison said. “Then you report it accurately and they come back to you and are willing to tell you more because you did a good job.”

Though she crafted an accurate and compelling series of stories on the subject, Allison said the complexity of the assignment felt overwhelming at times. In order to overcome this feeling, Allison believes it’s important to have patience and persistence. Her advice? To follow up with sources but don’t be too aggressive or annoying and always give yourself grace.

In April of 2019, Allison was promoted to a reporter at the Skagit Valley Herald, covering business and agriculture, where she works to this day. Since the onset of the pandemic, however, Allison has worked remotely, essentially covering Skagit County “from [her] bedroom in Bellingham.” 

Despite the hardships of the past year, Allison said she has become much more familiar with sources in the county because of the impact the shut down had on local businesses. She believes making cold calls and conducting over-the-phone interviews has made her less nervous and more confident in her reporting. Allison has also taken time to attend journalism workshops and believes continuous education is important for every journalist. 

“It’s easy to get stuck in a grind and feel negative sometimes,” Allison said. “It’s really nice to find opportunities to continue to learn and educate yourself.”

With the pandemic still looming, Allison is not entirely sure what the future holds for her. She is interested, however, in eventually moving on to another news organization. Allison said she plans to explore her options in news start-ups, online-only publications or investigative journalism —an avenue she has not yet had the resources to pursue. 

What started as a lunch time escape for Allison, has blossomed into a burgeoning career; one that will take her far, no matter what the future may bring.