Originally from Luckey, Ohio, Alexa did not plan on pursuing journalism. She graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2020, where she studied music education and German. While at BGSU, she played trumpet in the marching band and was involved with several music ensembles across campus. However, after graduating she decided to try something new and spent a year in Bitterfeld, Germany teaching English through the Fulbright Program.

Living abroad sparked an interest in foreign affairs and government, and after returning to the United States Alexa headed to Washington, D.C. to work as a legislative intern for a Congressional office. She interned with Reps. Josh Harder and Pete Aguilar and built her writing skills by drafting countless constituent response letters and briefing memos. While with Rep. Harder, Alexa had the chance to work on environmental legislation and helped introduce a bill into the 117th Congress, the Better Data for Cleaner Air Act. Although she considered staying on the Hill after her internships, she decided to come back to Ohio to continue working on a research project that would eventually lead her to The Blade.

Alexa didn’t consider working in news until December 2023, when she reached out to a former Blade reporter and found out her project was more like investigative journalism. After a few months of working together, they pitched the story and she took an internship with The Blade. Despite her unconventional path here, Alexa is excited to get some real journalism experience and is looking forward to learning from everyone at The Blade.