Ella Miller, a recent graduate from Central Michigan University, was hired in January as a community reporter and photographer at Warden Publishing. She will be covering the St. James and Steelville areas.

Miller, who was born and raised in Beverly Hills, Mich., a suburb of Detroit, studied photojournalism and multimedia design at CMU. 

“When I was nine, my dad gave me our family’s old point-and-shoot camera to play around with during a trip to Yellowstone,” Miller said. “I think I took over 400 photos that week. I just remember falling in love with documenting what I saw.”

Ever since then, she’s been working on developing her eye for capturing the world around her. Her love for journalism grew out of a desire to combine her passion for taking photos, telling stories and meeting new people. 

“That’s the best part of the job — I get to discover new perspectives and new ways of living that I probably never would have encountered otherwise,” Miller said. “Each day is so different.”

Her previous journalism experience comes from her time working as a staff photographer and photo editor at CMU’s award-winning student newspaper, Central Michigan Life. In addition to managing the photo team, she spent her time covering community and campus events, sports, features and more.

“I always joked that if you wanted to have the coolest on-campus job, work at the newspaper,” Miller said. “I found myself everywhere from the sidelines of the football field to protests and even taking photos from a helicopter.”

Miller said she’s excited to tell stories in a place that is completely new to her. She’s most looking forward to getting to know the people in the community and experiencing all the interesting events and activities the area has to offer.

“I used to want to work in a big city, but after spending almost four years covering my small college town, I realized how much I love community reporting,” Miller said. “There’s something really special about the stories you get to tell in small towns.”