Isabella Reilly

LI Press • June 20 2025

Meet Long Island’s very own Taylor Swift

On a Saturday afternoon, children aged 4-11 are lined up dressed in their best Eras Tour-styled attire: heart-shaped red sunglasses inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Red” album, blue and green face glitter inspired by the singer’s self-titled album, “Taylor Swift,” and shimmery yellow dresses, inspired by her sophomore album, “Fearless.”The familiar click of scanned tickets echoes alongside the excited shrieks and hushed murmurs of young Taylor Swift fans, boys and girls alike. “I can’t wait to see Ta...

HuffPost • May 29 2025

I'm Terrified My Boyfriend May Become A Victim Of A Demented New Trump Policy

When we first started going out last October, we discussed what a future might look like for us. Fulbright requires students to return to their home countries for two years after the completion of their program. We have talked about how we might navigate that time apart, but mainly we stay focused on the guaranteed time we have together until he graduates next spring.

When we first started going out last October, we discussed what a future might look like for us. Fulbright requires students to...

LI Press • May 7 2025

After fire kills Happy Cat Sanctuary founder and 150 cats, a community mourns, legal battle ignites

A charred frame sits in the afternoon sun at 12 Dourland Road in Medford.Hours earlier, Christopher Arsenault, founder of the cattery Happy Cat Sanctuary, had been in the then-in-tact home alongside the estimated 300 cats he lived with and cared for. But when a fire broke out at 7 a.m. on March 31, Arsenault, who had spent the past 19 years rescuing cats — who were oftentimes sick or abused — didn’t flee. 
Instead, he ran back into the flames, loaded his arms full of as many cats as he could car...

Dan’s Papers • March 26 2025

Rabbi Moshe Scheiner Solomon Leadership Program Helps Teens

Rabbi Moshe Scheiner, founder of Palm Beach Synagogue, wanted to create a leadership program that would help teenagers know they weren’t alone in their struggles.
So in 2016, the Palm Beach rabbi teamed up with local philanthropist, Larry Sonsow, and the Sonsow Foundation, to launch the Solomon Leadership Program. Scheiner said that the idea behind the program — which connects high school students with local leaders — was to provide students with a mentor that would provide first-hand guidance i...

The Local Reporter • May 30 2024

Public health crisis’: Why many UNC-CH sexual assaults go unreported - The Local Reporter

HEALTH; COMMUNITY NEWSBy Isabella Reilly UNC Media Hub student CorrespondentIn January 2022, a UNC-Chapel Hill student, who shared her story under the condition of anonymity, trudged through the freshly fallen snow alongside her friends. They were heading to Frat Court, the group of fraternity houses that lines South Columbia Street and West Cameron Avenue.She was 18 and had little drinking experience, but it was wine night, so she didn’t see a problem indulging in a few red Solo cups. She was w...

Raleigh News & Observer • May 19 2024

‘Life-saving skills’: UNC’s Dive In offers free swim lessons to increase public safety

It’s loud at the pool on Sundays. Laughter and the sounds of splashing water echo off the walls at Bowman Gray Memorial Pool as children and their families shuffle in at 12:55 p.m.

With a few minutes to spare, kids in colorful bathing suits grab pool noodles and kick off their plastic sandals before getting into the water alongside student volunteers. Beads of sweat drip down the faces of families, who despite the heat, proudly watch their children learn how to swim from the sidelines at Bowman...

Raleigh News & Observer • April 22 2024

‘It was all-consuming’: How one NC teen’s social media addiction turned into advocacy

Keegan Lee couldn’t put her phone down.

Not at the dinner table, surrounded by her mom, dad and younger sister, Kohen. Not at her desk — it always had to be on and face up, beside her animal figurines and on top of Lee’s stack of handwritten letters. Not even while she ran, constantly gripping for it in her pocket.

She couldn’t miss a notification. Who was trying to reach her? What were her friends doing? Did someone unfollow her Instagram account? Was it because she hadn’t posted anything in...

Our State • January 26 2024

Winter at Montrose Gardens | Our State

A blanket of snow lies deep in the winter woods at Montrose Gardens. Each year, Hillsborough gardener Nancy Goodwin waits patiently for it to appear. But this snow doesn’t fall — it blooms. “Most of the flowers in the winter are in the woods,” Goodwin says, gesturing toward a cluster of snowdrops, little white flowers that droop from bright green stems. Before the holidays, she says, the snowdrops, all clumped together, mimic a fresh dusting of snow on this part of the property.
Wandering throug...

UNC Media Hub • October 17 2023

The cat that got lost on the way to college   - UNC Media Hub

By Isabelle Reilly


Photos courtesy of Carol McMorrow


CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — On the evening of Oct. 27, 2022, Carol McMorrow and her husband, Mike McMorrow, left for the 7:30 p.m. showing of “Native Gardens” at PlayMakers Repertory Company.


An hour before showtime, Carol helped her husband, who used a wheelchair, into their van. They greeted their 14-year-old green-eyed gray tabby cat, Pippin, as he wandered about the driveway.


Their 23-minute drive to the show was quiet. Carol...

The Daily Tar Heel • September 19 2023

Hardworking and caring: Carolina Livery founder Mike McMorrow dies at 63

Mike McMorrow, who founded Carolina Livery – the transportation service that serves the Triangle and UNC’s campus with its famous small and medium-sized white buses – died of heart failure in his Durham home on Sept. 1 at 63 years old.
His wife Carol McMorrow met him in 1979 on a Chapel Hill Transit bus, a situation she still finds humor in. At the time, she says Mike didn't have any dreams of owning a bus company. 
The two married while still attending UNC in December 1981. Shortly after, Mike...

IES Abroad • July 31 2023

From City Streets to Country Roads: Back In Carolina | IES Abroad

It didn’t hit me until that cab ride to the airport. I could still see the girl I was just seven weeks prior, falling asleep in the back of the car, exhausted from her overnight flight. Feeling overwhelmed by the city streets and places I didn’t recognize. When I arrived at my accommodation those weeks ago, I remembered the cab driver asking me if I knew where I was. I wanted to say, no. Not any idea at all. 

Familiar sites painted that drive back to Heathrow. Streets names, pavements I’d walke...

IES Abroad • July 20 2023

City DJ: A London Listener's Guide | IES Abroad

Plato was right, you know, about music being medicine for the soul. My days always begin and end with music. Sometimes my music comes from my car radio or my boyfriend’s vinyl record player. Sometimes it comes from my Bluetooth speaker, shuffling Spotify playlist after Spotify playlist. And when I’m lucky, it comes from my favorite artist or band live, as I sing their lyrics back to them in the audience. 

It’s fair to say I love music. My vast collection of CDs, vinyl records and tendency to wa...

IES Abroad • July 18 2023

In Defense of Edinburgh: A Photo Diary | IES Abroad

On a weekday afternoon in April, I had Taylor Swift in my ears and a hot vanilla latte in my hand. Seated at my university’s cafe, I had a confirmation email from American Airlines in my inbox. 

American Airlines
Subject: Your trip confirmation (RDU - LHR) 

That confirmation for a journey I was yet to set upon made me think of all the others I was yet to take abroad this summer. 

Possible destinations flooded my mind. Venice. Rome. Brussels. Amsterdam. Barcelona. Madrid. 

But as far as my mi...

IES Abroad • June 22 2023

No Such Thing As Wasted Time: A London Travel Guide | IES Abroad

When you wait as long as I did to study abroad, a part of you feels like every moment of your experience needs to be perfect. Maximized. Anything but wasted. 

Arriving on the ground in London almost two weeks ago reminded me of everything I had done to get here. All of the hours I spent researching study abroad programs. The endless questions I’d asked every university tour guide. The pennies I scraped together to ensure I could support myself in a foreign country. 

But during my first week in...

IES Abroad • June 13 2023

The Other Side of the Glass: Preparing for London | IES Abroad

I spent much of my youth peering out my childhood bedroom window. 

No, it’s not that there was much to see. The other side of the window glass was mainly the white wall of my neighbor’s South Florida home. Over the years, my mother tried to ‘brighten’ my view – she would hang outdoor flower baskets and scatter bird feed that more often attracted squirrels than the hummingbirds she loved so much. 

But 10-year-old me would tell you this: I didn’t spend my days looking out the window because of w...

Chapel Hill Magazine • December 6 2022

Judith Jones Crafts Skin Care Products With 'Good Juju'

This Chapel Hillian created her own line of affordable, allergy-friendly products

Dumpster diving to make ends meet was 19-year-old Judith Jones‘ reality. She was struggling to complete a degree in nursing when she was diagnosed with highly reactive skin, which compounded her existing eczema that she’d had all her life. “I was on my own and trying to figure out what was going on with my skin,” Judith says. “Basically, I was like, ‘...

Chapel Hill Magazine • October 19 2022

Fearrington Family's 1926 Kenan Street Home Gets a Refresh

Jan Ammons renovated her family’s Chapel Hill home while still preserving its history

On June 1, family and friends of Jan Ammons, owner of 114 Kenan St., gathered to celebrate recent renovations made to her family’s 1926 home.

Home improvements began in January by contractors Cray Gunn and Kathy Gunn of Custom Carpentry Group, who Jan says were open to updating the home in a way that preserved...

Chatham Magazine • November 30 2021

Get Crafty This Holiday Season at The Creative Goat - Chatham Magazine

The Creative Goat owner Beth Rhew didn’t need to look any farther than her own backyard when choosing the name for her craft supply store. “When I was trying to come up with a name, people were saying, ‘What makes you happy?’” Beth says. “And I was like, ‘My goats.’ They’re my pets. And they can be pretty creative, too.” Beth opened the shop in January 2020 at 630 East St., Ste. 9, in Pittsboro. She had discovered a local need for higher-quality crafting materials during...

The Daily Tar Heel • September 12 2021

Jeff Nash retires from CHCCS after leaving an impact across the community and state

Jeff Nash once aspired to become a superintendent. But he could have never predicted the other opportunities his career would bring. 
Nash, now the former communications officer for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, recently concluded his 30-year long career in education, spending nine years at CHCCS.
Nash reached his retirement eligibility in February, but said he decided to delay his departure until late August to ease the transition for new CHCCS Superintendent Nyah Hamlett....

The Daily Tar Heel • September 7 2021

UNC's SPARK program helps support, connect women-identifying students of color

The adjustment to college is not always an easy one. 
But SPARK, a program designed for women-identifying undergraduate students of color, is working to make that transition a little bit easier. 
“A lot of times, students of color don't feel like they belong (at UNC) or have difficulty transitioning,” said Melissa Yu, leadership development graduate coordinator for Student Life & Leadership at the Carolina Union. “It’s important to have SPARK and find strength in community.”...

The Daily Tar Heel • August 29 2021

CHCCS removes painted pride flag from classroom wall

However, Lily Brumback said though she doesn’t believe Burko had negative intent, she does think the message sent by the principal’s actions was not one of inclusion. 
“I think (the removal of the painting) came across as erasure and wanting to hide the gay community as a hush-hush topic,” she added. 
Michelle Haskin, Smith Middle School parent and assistant teaching professor at UNC, said she believes removing the flag was not the best way for the school to handle the situation. 
“There was the...

The Daily Tar Heel • August 23 2021

Chapel Hill Transit bus operator shortages may lead to longer wait times

Chapel Hill Transit is facing a shortage of bus operators that county officials say may lead to increased wait times for riders.
In early August, Chapel Hill Transit resumed service for all routes. But with the current operator shortage, some schedule adjustments are in place.  
The J, NS, NU, RU and S route schedules have been altered with some trips removed, according to a press release from the Town of Chapel Hill. It also states Carolina Livery, a charter bus service, will operate three of i...

The Daily Tar Heel • July 12 2021

UNC graduate Oona Lewis hosts art exhibit to help victims of Nepali human trafficking

UNC graduate Oona Lewis’ passion for art began when she was only a child. 
Now, she is using her artistic talents to draw awareness to the children who may need it most – victims of Nepali human trafficking. 
Lewis will present “Small World,” her benefit art exhibition, at Vecino Brewing Co. located at 300 E. Main St., Suite C, in Carrboro. The exhibit will run from July 9 through Aug. 29, with an opening reception on Friday, July 16 at 6 p.m.

All event proceeds will be dona...

The Daily Tar Heel • July 1 2021

Chapel Hill Town Council establishes new regulations on short-term rentals

The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously passed an ordinance on June 23 that establishes regulations for short-term rentals after two years of work.
The ordinance amends the previous version of the Land Use Management Ordinance which did not include or define STRs and therefore provided no standards for STR use.
An STR is now defined by the ordinance as a residence rented in whole or in part for less than 30 consecutive days.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said STR operator...