About William E. Thompson
My journey in storytelling started in local news in Arkansas, where I worked as a reporter at the and as a staff photographer with the covering everything from local human-interest stories, presidential visits, Razorbacks sports and NFL games. Being recognized as by the and seeing my work picked up nationally in outlets like and, showed me the power of visual journalism. I served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer after college and then in the Army Reserves as a Public Affairs Officer in , and as a Special Operations Civil Affairs Team Leader at the beginning of the Iraq War during Operation Iraqi Freedom in .
My journey in storytelling started in local news in Arkansas, where I worked as a reporter at the Rogers Hometown News and as a staff photographer with the NWA Arkansas Democrat-Gazette covering everything from local human-interest stories, presidential visits, Razorbacks sports and NFL games. Being recognized as Photographer of the Year by the Arkansas Press Association and seeing my work picked up nationally in outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post, showed me the power of visual journalism. I served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer after college and then in the Army Reserves as a Public Affairs Officer in Kosovo in 2000, and as a Special Operations Civil Affairs Team Leader at the beginning of the Iraq War during Operation Iraqi Freedom in Baghdad in 2003.
My military service taught me leadership under pressure and gave me a deep appreciation for human resilience. Bringing those real-world experiences back home, I spent a decade as the photojournalism and multimedia instructor at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, North Carolina. During my time there, I developed the multimedia/photojournalism curriculum, served as president of the North Carolina Press Photographers Association, and The Southern Short Course in News Photography building web applications to host database-driven monthly photo contests for both organizations. My focus has always been on mentoring the next generation of visual journalists, teaching them to report on their local communities with accuracy, empathy, and integrity.
Today, my work sits at the intersection of personal photography, web development, and mentorship. Whether I'm building custom web tools, making images for myself and family, or sharing what I’ve learned with others, I hope to bring the same military discipline, technical curiosity, and passion for authentic storytelling to my future projects.