Author: Allison Dodson

Stella Turner is a high school junior from Fairfax, Virginia, where she is a part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and National Honors Society at Meridian High School.  She has been writing for her school newspaper, The Lasso, for three years, and has been an editor for the last two. She has also been a member of her school’s GIVE Day Service Club for six years and is currently Co-President of Meridian’s Young Democrats Club, where she leads and participates in discussions about current events and politics. She enjoys photography and playing volleyball, and wishes to study government and politics in college before pursuing a career in public service. As a WJMC 2021 alumna, she hopes to utilize her experiences to further improve those of future National Youth Correspondents at George Mason.

Haley Richardson is a junior at the Union County Vocational Technical High School in the Academy of Law and Justice.  After her experience at the Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC), she found a new passion for journalism and a determination to be a part of the field. On the Youth Advisory Board, she would like to use her organization skills and discipline to help plan the 2022 conference, and hopefully help make such a beneficial program a positive life-long memory for next year’s correspondents.

Alex Radt is a proud alum of the 2021 Washington Journalism and Media Conference and is looking forward to serving on the 2022 Youth Advisory Board.  They got their start in journalism in fifth grade, in Belgium, and continued through moving to Maryland, Virginia, Japan, and back to Virginia. They are currently a junior at Alexandria City High School and the editor-in-chief of the school’s magazine.

Jasmine Brockington is a senior in high school at Manchester High School in Midlothian, Virginia.  She is 17 years old and loves to read books, dance, listen to music and spend time with her family. Jasmine participated in WJMC this previous summer before starting her senior year and enjoyed every second of it. She wants to pursue Mass Communications as a career in life. Her life values include positivity and spending as much time making the world a better place through uplifting others. Her leadership skills in being Cocaptain of her dance team and to being elected as Historian for her school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, Jasmine is excited to be a part of the next chapter of WJMC and teach the future journalists of the world how to make the most of this experience as she did.

Summer Righter is a current student at Washington County Technical High School, where she is studying cosmetology.  A distinguished student, she holds leadership positions in the Spanish National Honor Society and the Washington County Student Advisory Board. She has also previously been a part of 4-H and the Boonsboro High School Drama department. Summer is a varsity cheerleader, with hopes of cheering in college, and an active member of the National English Honor Society. She hopes to graduate high school with her cosmetology license and attend a four-year college, to then go on and get a law degree. Summer attended WJMC in the summer of 2021 and loved every minute of it. Her favorite part was being able to make connections and start networking with many students and influential individuals from across the country. 

Clayton Dotson is an upcoming senior from Jacksonville, North Carolina who uses photography as a way to express emotion and meaning in journalism.  In 2021, he received First Place in the state for SkillsUSA- Photography, and went on to compete nationally online. His favorite styles of photography include street photography and wildlife photography. Outside of journalism and media, Clayton also plays the alto saxophone for both his school and a saxophone quartet known as Prometheus Saxophone Quartet. In the future, Clayton hopes to get into college for accounting and finance to become a CPA.

Noelle Myrick is a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Oscar Smith High School located in Chesapeake, Virginia.  Noelle attended WJMC’s 2021 session 1 conference and was part of the Green group. She serves as reporter for her school’s Student Council Association and Secretary for her school’s National Honor Society. Her hobbies include traveling and journaling. Noelle looks forward to serving on the WJMC Youth Advisory Board!