Elise Shire, of Auburn Hills, is the new reporter at the Oxford Leader.

She will be covering events and news within Addison Twp. and Oxford Schools.

Shire first became interested in journalism at a young age when she created a weekly fictional newspaper called The Pet News. What began as a love of fictional writing soon grew into a curiosity about the lives of others– inspiring her to shift her attention to the everyday stories of the people around her.

Having graduated from the University of Michigan-Flint with a B.A. in journalism in 2013, she completed several internships throughout her college career– including one for her hometown newspaper, the Clarkston News in 2011.

Following her experience at the Clarkston News, Shire explored the fast-paced world of TV news through her completion of a four-month internship at the ABC 12 News station in Flint.

There, she assisted reporters and producers in covering a wide range of daily-news stories and further solidified her interest in local-level reporting.

She also spent a year working with the public relations department in the Southfield school district, creating newsletters and drawing attention to the true-life tales of students and staff within the district’s 14 schools.

Today, Shire also works as a freelance writer for a rock music magazine in Los Angeles called Screamer Magazine.

When she is not writing, she spends her time watching movies, playing video games, and relaxing with her cat, Figaro.