Gemma LoGrippo '26 Publishes Article in The Daily Pennsylvanian

Gemma LoGrippo ‘26 had her article about the impact of healthcare reviews in patient care published in The Daily Pennsylvanian. The online news resource is the University of Pennsylvania's independent student media organization and covers news about the University of Pennsylvania and from around the Philadelphia metro area.

 

CLICK HERE TO READ GEMMA’S ARTICLE.

 

“I took a journalism class at my middle school, Edison Intermediate (Westfield), and have always enjoyed writing,” said Gemma, a lead writer and co-editor of the Mount’s newspaper, Peeks.

 

Before starting her senior year, she attended The Summer Press Academy, a three-day virtual program offered by The Daily Pennsylvanian, during which she learned how to research and interview the proper sources, form the right questions, and obtain the best answers for news articles. She learned about the structure of news articles, different style guides, and the importance of maintaining an unbiased tone in her reporting.

 

For her article in The Daily Pennsylvanian, entitled “Keywords in Healthcare Reviews Help Better Patient Care, Penn Research Shows,” Gemma was assigned the topic which was specific to the University of Pennsylvania. Her counselor from The Summer Press Academy told her about the study that was released about how online reviews on Yelp and healthcare websites can influence a patient’s decision about their choice of doctor and plan of care.

 

“I sent 20 emails to different sources to get interviews. Neil Sehgal, one of the lead authors of the study and a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania, was one of the people who responded to me,” said Gemma. “The turnaround time for the article was three days, but I studied the topic and was able to ask the best questions.”

 

“I learned that the reviews patients leave on a website make it possible for their voices to be heard and, hopefully, for proper changes to be made in healthcare,” she added. “Typically, Yelp reviews are used for services like restaurants or hospitality. They are more casual. But a review on a healthcare website has more influence because it is about how a patient feels treated as a person.”

 

While she doesn’t envision a career in the ever-changing climate of journalism, Gemma likes the idea of expressing one’s point of view and sharing the right information, even if it is not the most popular viewpoint.

 

“I’m thinking of studying public policy and international relations,” said Gemma, who is proud to apply what she learned this summer to her work with the school newspaper and with Ms. Judith Furnari (English Teacher and Peeks Advisor).

 

Gemma was recently inducted into the Mount Saint Mary Academy chapter of the Cum Laude Society and she was named an AP Scholar with Distinction. Aside from her responsibilities with Peeks, Gemma is a member of the Varsity Soccer and Golf teams, and a member of the Peer Ministry Club and Women’s Empowerment Club.