Contributors
Maren Fagan is a rising junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Daphne High School in Daphne Alabama. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, The Palladium, for 2020-2021 where she oversaw a staff of 10 and will again be the Editor-in-Chief for 2021-2022. She came to her school’s program with two years of middle school experience, which made her immediately indispensable to the yearbook staff. Maren presented at the National Scholastic Press Association's convention as a freshman in the fall of 2019 and the Alabama Scholastic Press Association’s 2020 and 2021 state conventions where she also won multiple awards. In her free time, Maren loves photography and being a member of her church’s puppet team. Maren’s goal is to study law with a focus on human rights.
Hi, my name is Sarasi Rout. I attend high school in Northern Virginia as a freshman. I'm so excited to be a part of MJW's class of 2021! In my free time I like to read, write, cook, and paint. This year, I decided to take a journalism elective in school and fell absolutely in love with it. The versatility of it is what excites me the most. Being able to share stories all over the world with a click of a button is remarkable -- and, anyone can do it! Whether it be through news articles, podcasts, photos, blogs, social media, and the list just goes on and on. My long-time mission is to shine light on unspoken topics. Thank you to MJW for awarding me this amazing opportunity!
Eleanor Liang, 14, is a rising highschool freshman. Eleanor grew up in Lubbock, Texas, moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the summer of 2019, and is planning on moving again to the Washington D.C. area. She plays a prominent role at her school as a senator of the Student Government Association and as a Northridge Ambassador. In addition, she is very involved in extracurricular activities- as a member of the debate team, math team, and battle of the books team. Classically trained since age 7, Eleanor plays violin in her school orchestra and performed in the Alabama All-State Orchestra of 2019-2020 as concertmistress. She is also a competitive swimmer, representing both Crimson Tide Aquatics and Northridge High School. Outside of school, her favorite pastimes include hanging out with friends, baking, and eating Chipotle. She is interested in pursuing a career in journalism, law, or medicine.
I am beyond thrilled to attend the Multicultural Journalism Workshop this summer! One fun fact about me is that I am a triplet! I have two sisters, and together we make up half of the Brady Bunch! I am also half Indian and half Caucasian. I attribute much of my character and personal development to this unique sisterhood and heritage. Finally, through my english class this year, I discovered the purpose for my passions in writing. When my teacher introduced me to Joan Didion, iconic journalist and personal inspiration, I was immediately intrigued by the world of journalism. I misunderstood Journalism as more of a sedentary, court reporter-esque career until I uncovered Joan Didion’s works and capacity to make a mundane cover into a piece of enthralling literature. I realized that sitting down at my laptop to write could be for more than just a homework assignment; it could be for spreading awareness, educating my peers, and empowering others. Though this venture into the world of journalism is a new and daunting one, there is no better way to kick it off than with this particular opportunity.
I'm Gracelyn Hatchett and I am 17 years old and a Junior at Tuscaloosa County High School. I am from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I currently live in Northport, Alabama. I enjoy going to school, English, History, and the mass media class are my favorite subjects at school. When I graduate high school I would like to major in Journalism, specifically broadcast journalism. Growing up I've always had an Interest for the news and everything that’s going on in the world. I would love to work for the company, ABC and to live in New York.
I am a rising college freshman that will attend the University of Alabama starting this fall to major in communications. I graduated this May from Sparkman High School in Harvest, AL. I was the editor-in-chief for the newsmagazine, The Crimson Crier. I love feature writing and hope to use my ability to tell others stories in my writing to inspire others. I am the 2021 Alabama Journalist of the Year and the Rick Bragg award winner for feature writing. I write for a minority-focused media company, Courageous Curls Media and was the 2020 Alabama Representative for the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference. While my high school’s newsmagazine is under prior review, I love expressing my ability to use my 1st Amendment Rights and advocating for student journalist rights. I am the student leader for New Voices Alabama which is a part of the SPLC that fights for the rights of student journalists across the country. When I am not focused on journalism I spend time with my best friend Katlyn shopping and eating ice cream every single weekend. I am excited about the opportunity to take part in this program.
My name is Sarah Orozco. I was born and raised in Washington, D.C., a city I adore. My non-immediate family lives in South Africa and Nicaragua. Having access and insight to such varying backgrounds has been important to me, and so I am happy to be a part of a program focused on multiculturalism. I became interested in journalism because I have long read the news regularly and developed an appreciation of the vital service journalists provide to society. In 10th grade, I co-founded a newspaper (which no longer exists) at my school through our Student Leadership club. Science is also an interest of mine, so I was able to combine it with my interest in communication in an internship at the Natural History Museum where We created a science communication video, and I have continued to enjoy editing videos. For my Senior Project I interned as a social media publisher for Washington City Paper, a local paper, where I was also able to publish a few short articles. My research was into Generation Z's news consumption patterns. This fall, I will be attending Emory University in Atlanta. I am considering majoring in biology with a social science minor. Outside of school, I dance, participate in a Youth and Government club, listen to music (my favorite band is Paramore), spend time with my family and friends, and sew. This summer I started working as a barista and I am walking and biking around my city as much as possible.
I am 17 and a graduating senior from Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. At school, I am an Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper and a design editor for our yearbook. I also help lead a community service club called Project R.E.A.D. which aims to help inner-city elementary students with math, reading and writing. Outside of school, I volunteer as a feature writer for the Red Cross Missouri-Arkansas region. And in my free time, I love playing the piano, trying new food, listening to all types of music, dancing and visiting art museums. Next year, I plan to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia to major in Journalism. As of now, I am really interested in combining my passion for education reform and storytelling to possibly do some investigative journalism and start research on resource distribution and the achievement gap.I believe that journalism holds so much power in the way society perceives the events around us, however, there are several aspects such as bias and representation that need to be worked on within the field. Because of this, I aim to continue learning about different communities and expand my perspective to become a journalist whose work helps progress our society further.
Kathleen Khorn is an upcoming junior in Southern California. Currently, she Is working on establishing a political science club at school that encourages civil system education amongst youth. Kathleen is also an avid fan of the late author Kurt Vonnegut. Like the late Vonnegut, she is extremely fascinated by the world of publishing and the creative process; brainstorming. In addition, she often spends her time working on both a foreign policy blog as an editor and the school newspaper where she is a student journalist. Kathleen’s journalism interests lie primarily in the field of politics and foreign policy. Next to political science and journalism, she also greatly enjoys playing the popular video game; Minecraft, in her free time. After high school, she hopes to major in either political science with a minor in journalism on the East Coast. Post undergraduate education, she plans to attend graduate school, where she will work towards a masters degree in communications.
Anna Dai-Liu is a graduating high school senior at Westview High School in San Diego, CA. Being Chinese-American, she has always tried to remain closely connected to her family roots in Wuhan, and so as the COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in anti-Chinese sentiment hit, she became invested in researching her family's hometown and talking with high schoolers in Wuhan about their experiences to bring their stories to a greater audience. Anna has always enjoyed writing and literature, attending the School of the New York Times in summer 2019, and currently serves as a mentor for student-run organization Writers' Workshop. Since August 2020, Anna has been an intern at national disaster relief organization Get Us PPE (GUP), where she has written several articles for the blog as well as worked in policy research on data collection. In addition to her academic pursuits, she has trained for 14 years as a ballet dancer and been involved in the San Diego Children's Choir for 12 years. This fall, Anna will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles, as a neuroscience major.