Naomi is an incoming fourth-year journalism and political science student at Northwestern University. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Naomi is pursuing a career in political reporting and is currently covering California politics as a summer intern at The Sacramento Bee.
‘My prison cell became my university’: Benard McKinley’s journey to civil rights law
April 3, 2024 | The Daily Northwestern
In 2004, a judge told then 19-year-old Benard McKinley he would spend his next 97 birthdays behind bars. Last month, however, McKinley turned 39 as a free man and opened a hard-won birthday gift: an acceptance letter from Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.
2024 Chicago Journalists Association Sarah Brown Boyden Student Journalism Award, First Place | 2024 Society of Professional Journalists Region 5 Personality Profile Mark of Excellence, Finalist | 2024 Associated Collegiate Press Story of the Year, Finalist | Picked up by Good Morning America, NPR, The Guardian, People, The Washington Post
Democrat Jay Jones wins attorney general’s race
November 4, 2025 | The Washington Post
Illinois bets on biodiesel: Expanding the market for domestic soybeans
June 16, 2026 | NPR Illinois
Pro-Israel conservatives confront antisemitic factions in their coalition
Nov 19, 2025 | Medill News Service
How Pope Leo Is Challenging American Catholics on Immigration
Oct 14, 2025 | Sojourners
Naomi Taxay 