Author: Allison Dodson

Kiara Sanders is a national youth correspondent from Springfield, Pennsylvania and is currently entering her senior hear at O’Hara high school. She is a cheerleader for the SKKY Allstars Cheerleading Program and has competed in Nationals and  Summit competitions. Kiara is very involved both in her school as a lion ambassador and freshman mentor, as well as outside her school as a lifeguard and a coach for young cheerleaders. She enjoys concerts, going on adventures, movies and traveling as far as her feet will take her. She is grateful for the skills WJMC gave her and plans to use them to pursue a career in Sports Broadcasting or the Army.

Lauryn Holliday is a senior at University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. She attended WJMC during session one. WJMC pushed her out of her comfort zone and allowed her create lifelong friendships with people around the country. After attending this conference, Lauryn was compelled to create a newspaper for her school. She is in the process of creating a team for the newspaper. She is an active member of her school’s literary magazine, theatre program, Student Diversity Leadership Council, African American Awareness Association, and track team. Lauryn is excited to help plan the next WJMC!

Esther Frances is a junior at Rockville High School in Rockville, Maryland. She is the news managing editor of her high school’s newspaper, The Rampage, and is the junior managing editor of her high school’s literary arts magazine, Echoes. Esther greatly enjoyed WJMC 2017 as it gave her insight as to what being a journalist entails and how to prepare for future internship and job interviews. She hopes to become involved with foreign journalism and communications between South Korea and the U.S.

Sami Gibbs was born in Orange County California, but was raised in Northern California’s Brentwood. She is currently a senior at Liberty High School where she enjoys staying actively involved as an honor student, including serving as Editor-in-Chief for the school newspaper, hosting activities in leadership affiliated classes, and volunteering when she has time. Sami hopes to attend either George Mason University or Fordham University and having a double major in Communications/ Journalism and Political Science. She aspires to become a reporter and anchor in the future, which in part, is accredited to the lessons and curriculum she inherited at WJMC 2017. Sami is ecstatic to be a part of this respected program and looks forward to all the success of WJMC 2018!

Shona Young is currently a Senior at Athens High School in Athens, Ohio. She plays clarinet in her school’s symphonic and marching bands, and works on costumes for the drama club. She is working to one day be involved in video production and is fascinated by most fields of communication, including journalism. She hopes that the attendees of WJMC 2018 will find as many interesting people as she did.

Milla Nguyen was a youth correspondent from Phoenix, Arizona during the 2017 Washington and Journalism Media Conference. Her hobbies include writing, sketching, painting, and photography. She is a junior attending Casteel High school and is involved in many school activities involving journalism, photography, and the fine arts. She plans to major in fashion design and minor in journalism for her upcoming college career. Milla loves to spend time with her family, friends, and help others. As a member of the WJMC Faculty advisory board, she would like to offer advice, share her past experiences, and interact with incoming youth correspondents of the 2018 Washington and Journalism Media Conference.