The Washington Journalism and Media Conference
Paloma Coelho is a graduating senior at Coral Gables Senior High School in Miami, Florida. She was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and moved to Miami during the summer of 2016. At her current school, she is the historian and treasurer for the Academy of Finance. WJMC 2019 was one of the best experiences of her life, and she can’t wait to be a part of WJMC 2020!
Manuela Bushamani is a graduating senior of the Green Run High School class of 2020. She attended WJMC’s 2019 conference and was a part of the silver group. She came to WJMC wanting to learn about journalism as a career path and left with a new passion. She plans to attend the University of Virginia in the fall to study journalism and is very excited to come back as an intern with WJMC this summer.
Maria McComish is a high school senior from South Bend, Indiana. She has a passion for journalism and politics. Maria loves to travel and is thankful for WJMC and the opportunities the conference provides. She is excited to return to WJMC this year to help 2020 Correspondents have an amazing experience.
Sam is a rising senior at Cherry Creek High School in Denver Colorado. He attended WJMC’s 2019 conference and was part of the pink group. He runs his own photography and videography business and came to WJMC wanting to learn more about the journalism field. Sam is very excited to come back to WJMC as an intern this summer.
Conference Intern
Ashley Larson is from Parker, Colorado and is a junior at Lutheran High School. She was a 2018 session 2 Maroon Group member. Ashley loves sports and portrait photography, as well as photojournalism, and she a sports photographer for her school’s yearbook.
Conference Intern
Taj Kokayi is a filmmaker and photographer. Next year he plans to be a film major and continue to pursue his love of visual storytelling. Currently, Taj serves as a videographer, editor, and floor director for his high school broadcast program, and he is also a sports videographer for his school’s champion lady volleyball and basketball teams. He is also a camera operator at Freedom Church, and he does nature photography and graphic design. Taj runs a news and media page on Instagram (@kingofmetahumans) that centers around science fiction and comic books and has reached over 75,000 followers. He attended the second session of WJMC last year, and it was without a doubt the best week of my life. He is beyond excited to return as an intern!
Conference Intern
Jenna Cohen is a current senior at South Brunswick High School in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. She was a National Youth Correspondent at WJMC 2017, serves on the Youth Advisory Board, and is now an intern for WJMC 2018! She is currently a three year member on her Student Council, Peer Mentor for freshmen in her community, Student Video Director for the broadcast journalism program at her school, and creator of her political op-ed series entitled “The Rewind.” She is thrilled to return to WJMC as an intern, and is counting down the days until July!