DANA CHESSER
Journalist, Content Writer, Personality Hire
ABOUT ME
Hey, I'm Dana.
I've always been a writer (literally, since I was eight years old). I spent most of my grade school years drafting creative texts in hopes of someday becoming an author. From poetic short stories to embarrassing fanfiction and various chapters of random novels that never saw the light of day, this art form has held my hand through everything. In college, I quickly realized that my skillset revolved around feature stories and content writing -- interviewing real people with raw stories that I had the privilege of telling.
My heart soon followed, and I graduated cum laude from Old Dominion University with a B.A. in English and a concentration in Journalism. The rich community of Norfolk, Virginia largely contributed to my success as a writer and my identity as a whole. My experience in the city is something I'll never forget. It pushes me onward in my writing career.
From 2023 to 2025, I wrote for Homes.com. The associate content writing position opened my eyes to how powerful humility is in the workplace (especially one filled with creative writers). The relationships I forged with my editors, the collaboration I exercised with my peers & the sheer excitement of seeing my work published on a household-name website has shaped me as a professional.
It also earned me the official title of Personality Hire (ha ha).
Though a majority of my work is published on the Homes.com website, this portfolio aims to showcase the breadth of my writing both in my professional career & as a college student. You'll find samples from The Mace & Crown student magazine and my own magazine, LVDR, a collaboration project with Hampton Roads graphic designer, Harper Imm. Featured as well are samples of my academic writing, along with various social media projects that I'm proud to have been a part of.
HOMES.COM
Writing Samples 2023 - 2025
Homes.com is a leading real estate website providing homebuyers with resources to improve their home search. In 2024, the company launched its neighborhood project, a series of guides immersing readers into over 20,000 communities across the nation. As an associate content writer, I was tasked with writing more than 200 guides throughout my tenure.
CoStar Group owns the rights to each of these works.
SKOKIE, ILLINOIS
"Many locally owned eateries and markets pay tribute to Skokie’s longstanding Jewish community. Kaufman’s Bagel and Delicatessen is one of Chicago’s oldest operating Jewish delis, serving as a hub for local Holocaust survivors to eat and work in the 1960s. On Oakton Street, Sarah’s Tent Kosher Market stands among a handful of Skokie’s Kosher grocery stores. Oakton Street is also home to the Downtown Skokie Farmer’s Market, which takes place at Village Hall. Sunday mornings are packed with residents perusing local produce and craft vendors."
HIBBING, MINNESOTA
"Nicknamed the 'Iron Capital of the World,' Hibbing’s origins actually began with the 19th-century logging industry. 'Our founder, Frank Hibbing, discovered there was iron beneath the trees. Within five years, we were a booming mining town,' says Kate Wagenbach, a staffer at the Hibbing Public Library. Today, the city is home to over 16,000 residents and the largest iron ore mine in the country. 'It’s still very old world here, but you won’t find any old world hang-ups,' she continues. Known as the hometown of renowned folk singer Bob Dylan, the city has welcomed a new wave of tourists and onlookers over the last 50 years. Much like Dylan, Hibbing finds its place at a crossroads between tradition and progress."
GOLD COAST, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
"Chicago’s Gold Coast offers a refined combination of ornate rowhomes and high-rise condominiums. Many single-family properties were constructed in the late 19th century, flaunting stone and brick façades in Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne styles. Behind their wrought iron gates, lush and well-maintained gardens accompany shrubs and trees, turning residential streets into miniature conservatories."
Chris Suarez, Content Editor
Homes.com
"Among the many things that impressed me was Dana's ability to charm and ease her interview sources -- many of them complete strangers she just cold-called or emailed a few hours earlier. Her work frequently included colorful, thoughtfully textured details that usually come only from seasoned journalists and interviewers."
Corrine Fizer, Content Writer
Homes.com
"When interviewing sources, Dana manages to find meaning and connection with even a complete stranger. And she’s endlessly curious about herself and others around her, making her a fantastic listener, conversationalist and historian."
DJ Stewart, Content Writer
Homes.com
"Dana's writing skills spoke volumes, immediately getting recognized by managers once we finished the training course. I can speak from first-hand experience to how well she balanced the demands of the role while maintaining a creative charm in her work."
LVDR MAGAZINE
Writing Samples 2023
LVDR, or "Lavender," was an independent study completed in Spring 2023 by myself and graphic designer, Harper Imm. It serves as a queer magazine for the Hampton Roads community, touching on topics like fashion, local record stores, film, and more. The project was written in the style of Associated Press. Physical copies were distrubuted at Eleanor's Book & Bottle Shop on Colley Ave., Norfolk.
View the Full Magazine Here | To View Individual Articles, Click the Links Below
TEXTURE GIVES: NOTES ON GENDER FLUIDITY & FASHION
"From full-glam, colorful makeup looks to traditionally less feminine clothing, Liebell’s stylistic choices slowly but steadily fell in line with their fluid identity– as has been the case for many before them. It’s no secret that fashion trends have closely accompanied gender for centuries, signifying the identity of the wearer. In turn, nonbinary fashion, sometimes referred to as 'agender fashion,' has arisen out of the need for individuals to feel more comfortable in their own skin, yearning for the autonomy to express themselves outside of the binary."
ON THE ROCKS: CAN QUEERNESS & SOBRIETY COEXIST?
"But these functions aren’t nearly as attractive to those seeking new experiences, particularly the kind that promise liquid courage and spontaneous hookups. A passing glance, an anonymous kiss; sometimes the shroud of a darkened club can mean the difference between out for the night and out of the closet. What’s more, for many young people, coming of legal age means finally having access to those spaces. Sober alternatives don’t commonly offer that same energy."
LAVENDER ARCHIVES: A BRIEF HISTORY OF PRESS, LANGUAGE AND THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY
"Police raids of gay bars, entrapment and sting operations were common throughout the 1960s and 70s as so-called vice officers continued their century-long assault on gay men. Perhaps the most well-known instance occurred at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay club in Greenwich Village, NY, after a particularly aggressive raid on June 28, 1969 led to six days of rioting against the police. What is now remembered simply as 'Stonewall,' would serve as a catalyst for the Gay Rights Movement."
IF YOU SAID GREEN, YOU’RE GAY: THE TIKTOK TO QUEER PIPELINE EXPLAINED
"So-called 'Gay TikTok' is an oasis for lesbian thirst-traps and “get ready with me’s.” It features everything from queer dating horror stories to up-and-coming queer musicians to clips of drag performances to educational ideas about intersectionality and queer history. Not to mention 'FrogTok' and a choir from Miami, for some reason. Though its most notable aspect is, perhaps, its propensity for calling out the straight-passing users who somehow wind up there. Videos detailing 'What your favorite color says about you,' are quick to shout, 'If you said green, you’re gay!' And while, of course, one’s favorite color may not always offer insight into their sexual preferences, maybe the dozens of LGBTQIA+ thirst traps they liked before it can."
HOLDING HANDS: FINDING QUEER COMMUNITY IN NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
"Electric crowds supporting local queens are not uncommon in the Norfolk area, but something about this particular night filled everyone in the room with a warm sense of community. Neighboring the city of Richmond, Hampton Roads sometimes pales in comparison to the lavish nightlife and drag scene just two hours northwest. Luckily, Virginia’s queens are willing to travel far and wide to give the Norfolk natives what they want: One hell of a show."
FERAL ATTRACTION: IS QUEER FILM SUFFERING FOR THE SAKE OF NORMALIZATION?
"The key difference between a raw testimonial like 'Moonlight' and a teen coming-of-age rom-com like “Love, Simon” is its acknowledgment of intersectionality and adversity. Such films may not even seem comparable despite their similarities because one dares to breach heavy subjects like Blackness and familial strife while the other is, as Anderson put it, sanded down. When filmmakers choose to make queer characters relatable, they lose key components of what it really means to be 'meaningfully queer.'"
A MOMENT THAT GLOWS SACRED: THE POWER OF LGBTQIA+ MUSIC AND BELONGING
"Mainstream pop aside, a major uptick in sapphic, indie alternative LGBTQIA+ music has commenced over the last decade, hibernating in the discographies of artists like Tegan and Sara, Snail Mail and The Japanese House. These hidden-in-plain-sight musicians produce queer-coded records with smooth synths and hard riffs, conveying the pure and emotionally devastating nature of queer romance and breakups."
THE MACE & CROWN
Writing Samples 2021 - 2022
The Mace & Crown is the official student magazine of Old Dominion University,
overseen by the English department and the office of Student Engagement & Traditions (SET).
THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
November 2022
"Graphic design currently stands as ODU’s largest major in the art department, with approximately 160 students enrolled. Though offered courses range from blacksmithing to printmaking to art history, design triumphs as the most practical, especially at a university geared towards convenience and accessibility. Despite the pandemic, Roth noted how the spring semester of 2022 brought students back with a bite, bursting with more passion and artistry than ever before."
ART FROM GUANTÁNAMO BAY
April 2022
"During ODU’s 44th annual Literary Festival, an excerpt read aloud from Adayfi’s memoir, titled 'Don’t Forget Us Here,' revealed that he was falsely accused of being an Egyptian Al-Qaeda leader after warlords ambushed and sold him to U.S. forces in northern Afghanistan. The large sum of reward money offered by Americans at the time – in the wake of 9/11 – routinely prompted such behavior. In return, Adayfi spent 14 years at Guantánamo Bay, uncharged and continually tortured. Today, he is still unable to return home to Yemen."
AN INTERSECTIONAL GLANCE AT AN INTERNATIONAL ISSUE
April 2022
"'Every day I hear about something terrible regarding trans people [and] I tend to be desensitized to it,” Kearney remarks. “Before coming to VA, I had never been friends with trans women or trans femme people of color. Now, most of my friends are queer and/or trans people of color. I have seen just how differently their experiences [are] with coming out… along with the level of danger that comes with just being themselves.'"
“TAKING MEASURE” TALKBACK: WAS THE CONVERSATION OF RACE LEFT OUT?
March 2022
"This struggle for equity plays a prominent role in YWCA and the #MeToo movement, both of whom promote the empowerment of Black women by allowing them the space to come forward against their abusers. Because of Hanna’s casting choices–and desire to expand the #MeToo dialogue– it was unfortunate that neither the play nor the talkback took advantage of highlighting this nuanced aspect of the conversation."
ODU’S VIRGINIA YOUNG POET OPENS UP ABOUT INSPIRATION & MENTAL HEALTH
March 2022
"Adeleke is the proud daughter of Nigerian immigrants whose resilience has strengthened since relocating across the Atlantic. The story of her parents’ journey and assimilation serves as the inspiration behind Adeleke’s poetry, which was recently honored by Virginia’s 20th Poet Laureate and ODU professor, Luisa A. Igloria."
JE MANGE
March 2022
"I smell it before it arrives. And then I see it: a lidless Dutch oven, red like the apron and tomatoes, the awning and all of Paris. My silhouette has prepared ratatouille. He rests it in front of me and I can’t help but smile as I absorb the richness of this scene. Then, he places a basket of freshly sliced baguettes between us, and I meet his eyes."
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE: ODU’S ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY INC. HONORS MLK DAY WITH ANNUAL COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
January 2022
“We need you to be the loudest generation. We need you to be so loud, that all the angels in heaven will rejoice,” Sivells commands, the audience affirming his words with various nods and the occasional “Amen.” He continues, “As Dr. King once said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.’”
JORGE SAENZ: COLOR, EVOLUTION & THE ART OF ABSTRACTION IN VIRGINIA BEACH
December 2021
"In his studio, Saenz can finally exhale the breath he’s been holding outside of it. It is a haven of sorts, a homestead bursting with line, color and texture, adequate for the maintenance of abstraction. And though many of his colleagues prefer the wistful nature of the impressionists, Saenz uses his work to evoke a deeper emotion that is only accessible by means of the theoretical."
ACADEMIC WRITING
Writing Samples, Old Dominion University, 2022-2023
“NEUROTIC GENIUS:” THE SEXIST ROMANTICIZATION OF MELANCHOLY & MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN
May 2023
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE: THE LESBIAN DISCOURSE COMMUNITY & REPRESENTATION IN FILM
February 2023
A IS FOR ADVANTAGE: NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S CRITICISM ON MORAL PUNISHMENT
February 2022
SOCIAL MEDIA
Creative Portfolio
@SACSAPRES
Spring 2023
Instagram initiative designed for the president of The Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA).
@ODUMONARCHSGB
Fall 2022
Instagram initiative for Monarchs Give Back, a food drive held during homecoming at Old Dominion University.