Searching for humanity For more than three decades, Melissa Stoeltje was determined to give a voice to the voiceless through her work. Here are her greatest accounts. Searching for humanity For more than three decades, Melissa Stoeltje was determined to give a voice to the voiceless through her work. Here are her greatest accounts. For the three-plus decades I worked as a newspaper reporter, the last 20 years at the San Antonio Express-News, I was always inspired by one simple goal: Tell a good story. More than that, I was motivated to dig deep into the stories that came my way to find the warm, beating heart that resided at their center. To try and grasp the essential humanity of the people who entrusted me — at levels that never ceased to amaze me — to tell their tales.