Category: Youth Advisory Board

Kelsey Watson is a senior at South Forsyth High School in Atlanta, Georgia. She loves to do gymnastics, write, and most importantly read. She is a part of her school’s journalism team and has proudly attended WJMC in 2019. She is eager to start her role on the WJMC youth advisory board and happy to be a part of the WJMC experience again.

Madeline King is a senior from Los Gatos, California. She is Editor-in-Chief of her school newspaper and captain of her water polo team. She is so proud to be a part of the WJMC family after an amazing summer in the blue group and can’t wait to be a part of the YAB!

Dafne Estrella is a senior at Southern High School in Harwood, MD. She is a part of the National Honor Society and her school’s literary magazine. Dafne spends her time volunteering through school organizations, running on the cross country and track team, reading and writing. Her WJMC experience in 2019 inspired Dafne to pursue her passion for writing and hopes to attend college to major in journalism next fall. Dafne can’t wait to be a part of the Youth Advisory board and help make WJMC a memorable experience for future correspondents!

Laura Walker is a National Youth Correspondent from Paducah, Kentucky who attended the Washington Journalism and Media Conference in 2019 as an upcoming junior. She is a member of her high school’s National Honors Society, National English Honors Society, Dance Team, and theatre department. Laura is also an active member in her city’s Chamber of Commerce as a Youth LEAD participant. In her spare time, she enjoys performing in musicals at local community theaters and is active in her church’s praise and worship department. Laura is excited to use the skills she learned at WJMC to better communicate with peers and leadership alike.

Gabrielle Tornow is a junior at Shelby County High School in Shelbyville, Kentucky. She is a member of National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the SCHS Choir Department. She dances at Diane Moore Dance Academy and is an assistant with the Miracle Dancers, a group of special needs children and adults. She is currently dual enrolled at Jefferson Community and Technical College and plans to graduate high school with an Associates of Art. In her free time, she enjoys reading and acting in school productions.

Ainsley Marshall is from Laramie, Wyoming. She enjoys volunteering for her local women’s shelter and she enjoys drawing. She competes nationally on the quarter horse circuit. She hopes to be able to help make the 2020 WJMC as great as possible!

Sydney Dixon is a senior at Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri, and attended The Washington Journalism and Media Conference in 2019. Sydney plans to attend The University of Missouri in the fall of 2020 and intends to double major in journalism and sports administration. She has been following her dream of being a sports journalist since she was in 7th grade by partaking in several journalism related activities. When she is not participating in student body government, spending her time writing stories for her high school yearbook– which she has been the editor of since her junior year– or watching the Atlanta Braves, she is filming or editing for her school’s video announcements or writing for The Savannah Reporter, the newspaper in Savannah, Missouri. Sydney is incredibly excited to be a member of the Youth Advisory Board and help to make WJMC 2020 the best year yet!

CJ Watkins is a junior homeschool student from Tennessee. He attended the 2019 Washington Journalism Conference. He is active in many extracurricular activities such as Jiu Jitsu, his Tutorial Newspaper, and playing the guitar. After graduation, he intends to attend college and has a passion for writing.

Aryany Perez, a founding junior at Memphis Rise Academy in Memphis, Tennessee, attended the 2019 Washington Journalism and Media Conference and was deeply motivated to find her voice and speak out more. Aryany is going to be a first generation high school graduate in 2021 and is interested in communications and political science as a major.

A senior at Memorial High School in Houston, Texas, Carolyn is a member of the drill team and serves as copy and co-photography editor of the yearbook. She volunteers with her church, National English Honor Society, and YoungLife. Her hobbies include photography, reading, and dance. Her transformative WJMC experience in 2019 introduced her to the exciting worlds of politics and journalism, and she can’t wait to instill this same passion in future correspondents!