About
Emily graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in the Spring of 2023 with an Honors degree in journalism and political science and a minor in photography.
​
Journalism
​
Emily has experience working as a writer for the student newspaper at NAU, The Lumberjack where after one semester she was promoted to Assistant Features Editor. In this role, she oversaw a staff of six writers and designed the section's weekly pages in InDesign. She then moved onto the executive board as the Director of Digital Content and Social Media for the next three semesters. For her last semester at The Lumberjack, she became Editor-in-Chief.
Photography
​
Her photography style is influenced by the natural landscapes of the nature around her while continuously trying to focus on issues that are underrepresented. She is especially keen on capturing her subject’s emotion to tell a more compelling story. In her spare time, she loves to experiment with macro photography and travel to new places.
​
​
Emily also has experience in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, Google Drive, Canva, Microsoft 365 and managing social media platforms. She has worked PR for clubs and organizations throughout her college career.
She would love to work for a travel magazine or newspaper, but her dream is to eventually make her way to White House photographer or National Geographic photojournalist.
​
Emily Gerdes was raised in Southern California, which is where she fell in love with the Southwestern part of the United States and the Colorado Plateau. This is where her inspiration to become a photojournalist was first sparked. She realized the world is full of beautiful places and everyone deserves to see and understand the importance of protecting.
Her interest in politics made her admire photographs depicting American leaders throughout intense periods of history. Emily saw the value in those photos and wanted to capture them herself.