The Spectrum

Alexa Z. Cassill is a 16-year-old student Kearny High School in New Jersey. She loves baking cookies from scratch, singing, writing, and pretending to know how to dress salad.  She hopes to one day no longer be indecisive and potentially become a journalist—maybe.

Belissa Mieses is an 18-year-old senior attending Law Advocacy and Community Justice.  She enjoys playing soccer and is the co-editor for the news section of her school newspaper The Advocate.

Bria Holness is a rising senior at the Academy of Mount Saint Ursula. She competes in both volleyball and basketball at the varsity level. A current resident of the Bronx, Bria is looking to attend college outside of New York where she will study print journalism.

Cecilia Jiang is a 17-year-old rising senior at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, N. J. She is the news editor of her school’s newspaper, Hawkeye. In addition to journalism, Cecilia likes music and reading, and enjoys being a part of the Model United Nations team at her school.

Chlouie Alvarado is a 17-year-old rising senior at Watertown High School in her hometown Watertown, CT. She’s involved in art and student government and is looking to study communications in college.

Elaina Kristine Crockett is a 16-year-old rising junior at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School in Manhattan. She is a part of her schools journalism club, which inspired her to join UJW. In addition to her in journalism, she also enjoys writing poetry. This summer she is a part of the John Jay “Collegenow” poetry program

Joe Kozlowski is a 17-year-old, rising senior at Regis High School in Manhattan’s Upper East Side; he commutes there from Staten Island each day. He also writes for the sports section of the school magazine, “The Sports Corner.”

Jovani Hernandez is rising junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the South Bronx. He is a passionate member of his school’s Latino Society, and competes on Cardinal’s soccer team. Jovani hopes to pursue his passion for writing at UJW.

Megan Lu is a rising senior at Horace Mann School in the Bronx but lives in Westchester, NY. She is currently interning at the Riverdale Press as a student photographer. Although journalism is her passion, she is also interested in environmentalism and hopes to establish a compost program at Horace Mann.

Nia Muñoz is a 17-year-old senior attending Mont Hall High School. She enjoys watching and critiquing movies and loves playing soccer.  She aspires to write for The New York Times or Rolling Stone.

Nicole Zhao is a 16-year-old rising senior at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. She participates in the Step Crew and competes in track and field as a race-walker. Working as a news editor for her school paper The Spectator piqued her interest in journalism.

Quran Squire is a 17-year-old New Jersey native who attends St. Benedict’s Preparatory School.  In his spare time he writes poetry, runs tracks and makes music.

Renato is an eighteen-year-old upcoming senior at Kearny High School. He is involved in the school newspaper, and is a wedding videographer. He is torn between careers in cooking, journalism and medicine.

Sam Jo Mendes is a 16-year-old upcoming senior at the High School of Telecommunications. She started a women’s lacrosse team at her school and has aspirations to join the Peace Corps. Sam likes llamas, but despises negative energy.

Satabdi Sugandha is a 16-year-old rising senior at Midwood High School in Brooklyn. She is the Managing Editor of Argus, the school newspaper. On of Satabdi’s biggest passions is reading and her idol is the New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, whom she hopes to win a trip with in the future.

Shantel Shepard is a 16-year-old rising junior at Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice in Brooklyn.  She wants to pursue a career in psychology, law, or journalism.

Stephany Garcia is a 17-year-old rising senior at University Academy Charter High School. She is the editor of the Arts and Features section of her school’s newspaper, “The Student Voice.” A future NYU student hopeful, she is interested in majoring in Communications and Journalism.

Susana Chajon is a 15-year-old rising junior at Vanguard High School in Manhattan. She is a writer for her school newspaper The Vanguardian. Chajon plans to pursue a career in multimedia.

Tammy Chan is a 17-year-old rising senior at Talent Unlimited High School on the Upper East Side. She is the editor in chief of her school’s newspaper, The Rising Star.   She was born on the Lower East Side but currently lives in Queens.

Yahui Liang is a rising senior at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, N.J. She is the editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, Hawkeye, this and writes for her school’s literary magazine, Ink! She is considering pursuing a career in either journalism or engineering.