Chloe LaVelle

I'm a freshman from Columbus studying media advertising. I am also double minoring in marketing and studio art.



Projects by Chloe LaVelle

Journalism Story

Local band sparks listener’s interest with new sounds at The Bishop

By Lauren Wainwright, Chloe LaVelle and Taylor Waterman 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  (April 3, 2025)

Electric energy surged through The Bishop on the night of March 21, 2025. The DIY noise rock band, Mourning Star, took the stage, striking a chord with the audience. 

But for the audience, it was more than just a concert. 

It was an immersive experience showcasing noise rock’s raw, unfiltered spirit. Founded by Thom Kitchel and Anna Pregger, Mourning Star has become a beacon for those seeking music beyond the polished. They offer a sound that’s as much about connection and inspiration as it is about the music itself. Even being down a drummer for the performance, the members were able to compensate. Nova Hardie moved to the drums while Pregger played bass and sang. Mason Taylor was one of many Bloomington community members at The Bishop that night.  “They had a loud encompassing sound that like I just haven’t heard from anywhere else,” Taylor said.

Mourning Star group photo
After an intense band practice on March 20, 2025, Anna Pregger, Thom Kitchel and Nova Hardie walk to the local Village Pantry and purchase some snacks. On the walk, the band discussed their plans for the next performance. Photo by Taylor Waterman.

In just one short year,  Mourning Star has rapidly grown in prominence. “I don’t know if I would call it a rise to fame. It’s been very fast, but it’s also been very satisfying,” Kitchel said. What began as a small hobby has now become something much bigger. The band has been booking three shows a month and is preparing for out-of-state gigs in the coming months.  

While booking shows is critical to their growing success, the true test for any band lies in its dynamic. For Mourning Star, this cohesion is essential. “Our dynamic, I think we work very well. I think that when we perform live, we are really good at it; even if there are little mistakes, we are really good at recovering from those,” Pregger said. Pregger can recall only one instance where the band had to completely reset during a performance—a testament to their strong chemistry and adaptability. But band dynamics don’t happen overnight. “I remember our first ever practice, it was in a garage and we practiced and it was just like ‘oh boy we got a long way to go, ’” Kitchel said.

Thom Kitchel tuning his guitar
Thom Kitchel meddles with the guitar tuning before band practice at band member Anna Pregger’s house on March 20, 2025. With practice starting, the band prepared to execute new sounds. Photo by Taylor Waterman.

A band has to start from somewhere, it starts with a passion. For Pregger, the dream of forming a band began years earlier, in high school, when she first encountered the DIY music scene. “Hearing that other people could start it with just nothing, just make like garage band music just like in the car, that was very inspirting to me. Throughout high school, I would just make, like, really not good-sounding things, but I would do just sorta the same thing. And I was like, maybe I can actually do this one day,” Pregger said.  While she dabbled in music creation throughout high school, it wasn’t until she encountered other college bands and started collaborating with Kitchel that she truly believed it was possible to create something of her own. Kitchel, who moved to IU this year, wanted to create a band that created a sound that was conducive to the sound he was envisioning. 

The band goes beyond the music, though, hoping that they can make an impact in the Bloomington scene. Pregger has hope that they have accomplished this goal. “There’s been a couple people that have come up to us after shows who have seen us, and they have been like ‘Wow, you guys make us want to start a band.’ And that’s been sorta crazy to me, and that’s made me want to perform more to inspire people’s goals because like the way that I got inspired was seeing other college students being in bands and being like, oh yeah, I could be able to do that.” Pregger said.

Anna Pregger playing her bass
Anna Pregger sways and plays her bass at band practice on March 20, 2025. Down a band member, she worked to make this performance loud and powerful. Photo by Taylor Waterman.

While fame is on the minds of many bands, Pregger has other ideas. “I don’t need to be a big band to be happy. I just want to play with bands that I really like.” Pregger said. The Bloomington scene is shaping up to be a launching pad for the band’s continued success, but the foundation for Mourning Star’s journey lies in their shared passion for creating music that resonates with them. It’s not just about the noise they make on stage, but it’s about the moments of connection that form both within the band and with their growing community of fans. 

 

Mourning Star caught the attention of their audience on March 21, 2025, at The Bishop Bar in Bloomington, Indiana. Beginning in 2024, the noise rock band reflected on their successes and hopes for the future. 

Public Relations Story

Apple CEO Tim Cook Reveals Apple’s Newest Product the Apple Watch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Edward Lewis
Chloe LaVelle
Olivia Weiss

CUPERTINO, California (September 9, 2014)—Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the creation of the Apple Watch on Tuesday, September 9th, in Cupertino, California, where its digital crown’s abilities take the main stage.

Tim Cook’s confidence on stage is perceived positively by the audience as he receives applause through the announcement of the Apple Watch. Cook targets not only the functionality of the watch, but the sleek look it provides on a person’s wrist. Prior to Kevin Lynch’s introduction, Cook finished off by explaining how no detail was missed with this watch, there is fluid movement and access throughout the use of the watch. Vice President, Kevin Lynch, who is also wearing an Apple Watch like Tim Cook, is able to provide a detailed run-through of how the watch works. This announcement of the Apple Watch provides abundant information about its abilities and what makes this form of technology incredible.

The digital crown takes the prize for being the best functionality of the Apple watch. The crown is essential to the usage of the watch and movement. The digital crown includes infrared LEDs and photo dials. When you turn the dial of the digital crown, it zooms in and out of the screen, this way the screen is not blocked by the user’s fingers. The crown allows fluidity of getting in and out of apples, it enables precise adjustment, and pressing down on the crown returns you to the home screen.

An Apple Watch user scrolls through their texts using the digital crown.
Deshna Venkatachalam scrolls through her text messages on her Apple Watch using the digital crown. Apple created the digital crown to give the users of the Apple Watch a better overall experience than a touch screen.

The Apple Watch is said to be incredibly customizable, with it having the ability to reflect the user’s personal style. It has the ability to not only connect directly with the wearer but to other Apple Watch users as well. This happens from the communication aspect of the watch, with the digital touch aspect that provides an entirely new way to connect intimately with others. Kevin Lynch, the design chief, discusses different ways to interact. Examples of this can be, sending a quick sketch or sharing your own heartbeat. You can also get someone’s attention with a gentle tap, where he shows sending three taps to his friend, to go to lunch together.

The watch holds very personal technology, allowing users to add their style and taste to their watch. The watch faces can be customized just how the user would like. The appearance of the faces can be changed through different colors and functionality. One example of functionality, which Kevin Lynch explained to be his favorite, was the astronomy watch face. The astronomy watch face allows the user to look at the Earth, the phases of the moon, and even the entire solar system.

An Apple Watch user checks the time during her work shift.
Shannon checks the time on her Apple Watch using the extremely accurate time function during her shift at the Indiana Memorial Union. The time function on the Apple Watch is stated to be accurate by 50 milliseconds.

The display also has the ability to sense touch and force. Its navigation is fluid and allows very lightweight interaction from the user. There is access to a wide range of specific controls, one being built in Siri. The access to Siri allows access to whatever question you need answered with the simple touch of a button, like asking, what movies are playing near me? The user also has simple access to notifications, with a subtle buzz on the wrist and a simple raise of the wrist, the notification will come in. The notifications then come with quick replies, which are picked out for the best response, easy to tap on and send back. The display also provides the ability to see any collection of photos the user wants, like the favorites collection. Lastly, the display provides a fascinating interaction with directions. The watch provides feelings on the wrist that can tell the user which direction they need to go without having to look at the map.

Kevin Lynch finished his description of the watch, “We have been working with third-party developers to extend their apps onto the Apple Watch” he stated. He explains how connecting to other applications is what will take this app to the next level. The watch holds the app titled, “the watch kit,” which enables developers to create actionable notifications with those buttons.

Lynch provides many examples of this; American Airlines allows you can check into you’re flight with the touch of a button and Starwood Hotels lets you check into your hotel and unlock your hotel room with one wave from your watch.

Tim Cook finished off the announcement of the Apple Watch with his favorite feature, “Apple builds great products that enrich people’s lives, and arguably we can take that to a whole new level with the Apple Watch” he states. This leads to the health and fitness feature of the watch, which gives the user the ability to motivate people to be more active and healthy. There are two new applications to this, the fitness app, which monitors all fitness and activity, and the workout app, which allows you to set specific goals for specific workouts. The custom sensor can sense the user’s heart rate, and the tracker allows the user to see how far they have moved. These three aspects of movement are provided to push users to sit less and move more, along with delivering intelligent reminders to keep the user on track.

Apple is prepared to release the Apple Watch by early next year, 2015. The starting price of the watch is going to be $349. Apple is very confident in this product and believes that society is going to be very satisfied with it, “Apple watch is the most personal device Apple has ever created” Cook says. Apple believes that this watch is incredibly functional and also beautifully aesthetic, with the ability to empower its users.

Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch by going through the top features. Cook explained the new digital crown and all of its capabilities.

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