Grace Cole is a senior at Bishop Hartley High School in Ohio and is an alumna of WJMC 2017. She is is an announcer for Friday night football at her school and is a member Generation Rap, a teen radio talk show. Grace plans on continuing her journalism career with majoring in sports broadcast and minoring in business. She cannot wait to help create the WJMC experience for 2018.
Author: Allison Dodson
Conner Waters is a senior at West Forsyth High School in Cumming, Ga. In school, he’s part of the broadcast news team and SkillsUSA. He is passionate about art and broadcasting. He attended WJMC 2017 and met his second family, the Navy group. Conner describes the conference in three words: life-changing, emotional and inspiring. His favorite parts of WJMC are the new friendships and how it helped him grow as a person with confidence. Conner is excited to be part of this year’s Youth Advisory Board with the hope of making the incoming correspondents’ conference experience even greater.
Justin Rocha is a senior at Riverside High School in Leesburg, VA. He is a captain on Riverside’s cross country and track team, an NHS member, yearbook editor, and a Mu Alpha Theta member. Some of the best parts of his WJMC experience included meeting new people from around the country, listening to a variety of speakers, and learning how to be a better journalist. Justin can’t wait to continue his WJMC experience on the Youth Advisory Board!
Khiarra Johnston is currently a senior at Henrico High School in Richmond, Virginia. She attended the 2017 Washington Journalism and Media Conference in pursuit of bringing candor and integrity to media. Khiarra plans to study cinematography, strategic media and forensics in hopes of being a music video director or an investigative journalist. When she isn’t filming a video, you can catch Khiarra fighting the system, dancing, or acting with her school’s drama club. She is extremely excited to contribute to WJMC 2018! Khiarra loves to chat, so if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to give her a shout.
Sydney Boeger is a junior at Stratford High School, located in a small town in Central Wisconsin. She is a class officer as well as vice president of SADD and an officer for Student Council. She is involved in many clubs including National Honor Society, Mock Trial, FBLA, and Forensics. Sydney’s future plans are to double major in journalism and communications. Her favorite WJMC memory was meeting her color group and spending the week with others who share her passion for journalism.
Katelyn is currently a Junior at Beaver Dam High School in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. She’s a member of her school’s National Honor Society and enjoys helping Freshmen adjust to high school life as a Link Crew Leader. She also loves working as a Gymnastics Coach, spreading the love for her sport to many elementary-age girls and boys. She loves writing, specifically poetry and fiction, including short stories and novels. She hopes to one day become a journalist and to continue writing for the rest of her life.
Ali is a junior at Syracuse High School in Syracuse, Kansas. She is involved in varsity volleyball, track, Scholars Bowl, Library Leadership Group, Student Council as the president, National Honor Society as the vice president, an editor at the school’s CSPA and NSPA award-winning yearbook, and has won many photography and ceramic awards. She wants to pursue a photojournalism major in Washington, D.C. and travel the world. Her favorite memory of WJMC was meeting her lifelong friends from across the country and being a step closer to becoming a successful New York Giants photographer or political journalist.
Kate Harwood is currently a senior at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. At Stone Bridge, Kate is involved in her school’s Student Council Association, Choir Department, Theatre Department, National Honors Society, and Tri-M Honors Society and is the Features Editor of The Bulldog Tribune (school newspaper). After high school, Kate hopes to pursue a degree in communications, journalism, or public policy. WJMC 2017 was an unforgettable experience and taught Kate to trust her instinct, the importance of making connections, to constantly be developing her craft, and her new-found love of journalism. WJMC helped Kate discover her career aspirations and what it means to be a true journalist. Her favorite part of the Conference was experiencing D.C. through a journalist’s point of view. She is excited and honored to serve on the WJMC 2018 Advisory Board and can’t wait to help shape WJMC 2018!
Taj is aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter currently working on a few short films and music videos. He plans to attend film school in Los Angeles next year and major in Film & TV Production and minor in Journalism. He then plans on getting a master’s degree in Screenwriting. Taj is also a social media admin; he runs a comic book/superhero media account on Instagram under the name “@kingofmetahumans” and has around 61,000 followers. Taj plans on expanding his page in the upcoming months to more platforms of social media including: YouTube, Twitter, podcasts, and a blog. He is thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Youth Advisory Board!
Grace Engelman is a senior in high school in Monterey, Kentucky. She is the media chair of the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition’s Political Working Group, focusing on legislative work concerning environmental justice. Grace plans to major in political science.