THE VOICES OF NEWSROOM BY THE BAY TEAM VOICE
UNITED THROUGH JOURNALISM....
Team Voice has trekked all over the world to meet together at Stanford University, the home of Newsroom By The Bay. These are their stories.
PHILLICITY URIARTE-JONES, 16
- Grade: 12
- School: Stagg High School - Stockton, California
- Publication: The Stagg Line
- Staff Position: Editor-in-Chief
Biography: Future Editor-in-Chief Phillicity Uriarte-Jones wants to simply do more than improve her publication's website and graphics- she wants people to feel comfortable and confident within Stagg High School's publications department. Growing up in Stockton, California, for her whole life, Uriarte-Jones has always seen herself as a city girl. She appreciates the time and dedication people do to create, whether it's through architecture or taking a picture for an article. Not only is Uriarte-Jones looking forward to improving her school's journalism program, but she can't wait to take the experience all in.
RENTING CAI, 17
- Grade: Senior
- School/City: Shenzhen Middle School - Shenzhen, China
- Publication: Visionary Monthly
- Staff Position: Editor
Biography: Visiting all the way from Shenzhen, China, Renting Cai discovered Newsroom By The Bay by visiting Stanford University's website. Cai's favorite part about NBTB was visiting San Francisco. He looks up to Robert Fry, who is his AP Literature and Language teacher. In the future, Cai intends to pursue a career in journalism. When he has spare time, he loves to write and travel.
NADIRA MITCHELL, 15
- Grade: Sophomore
- School/City: Tuscon High School - Tuscon, Arizona
- Publication: Cactus Chronicle
- Staff Position: Staff Writer
Biography: Nadira Mitchell is ecstatic to be a part of Nbtb this summer! She hopes to acquire more communication skills during her time here that she can then apply to future jobs. She is particularly interested in environmental photography, which goes hand in hand with her interest in wildlife conservation. When not doing journalism, Mitchell enjoys playing the viola in her orchestra and the drums.
WENDY SHI, 16
- Grade: Senior
- School/City: Kamiak High School - Mukilteo, Washington
- Publication: The Gauntlet
- Staff Position: Editor-in-Chief
Biography: Wendy Shi was drawn to Newsroom By The Bay for three things- the weather, Stanford, and the chance to enhance her journalism skills. For the last four years, Shi has moved on since freelance writing, to section editor and eventually, Editor-in-Chief. Besides journalism, Shi has a zest for dragon roll sushi, sleep, and editorial pieces.
ROBIN HYUN, 15
- Grade: Junior
- School/City: Monte Vista High School - Danville, California
- Publication: The Stampede
- Staff Position: Staff Writer
Biography: Robin is looking forward to learning more about a variety of skills and techniques in journalism to bring back to her school magazine. She discovered journalism at her school by chance and has stuck with it ever since. Robin also enjoys acrylic painting, and hopes to combine this pastime with her passion for journalism to enhance her pieces even more.
BREANNA COMUNALE, 16
- Grade: Junior
- School/City: Francis Parker High School - San Diego, CA
- Publication: The Scribe
- Staff Position: Arts and Culture Editor
Biography: Breanna Comunale is thrilled to be a part of the journalism team here at NBTB! She enjoys investigative journalism the most and strives to create impactful photography that captures the essence of the moment. Her favorite class here is the website development class because she plans on launching her own independent website that will cover a range of stories. With the skills she acquires here and the rest of her academic career, Comunale hopes to begin her own law magazine after law school. In her free time, she enjoys doing competitive ballroom dancing and expressing herself through it.
KALEB CLYDE, 14
- Grade: Sophomore
- School/City: Winslow High School - Winslow, AZ
- Publication: Yearbook
- Staff Position: Staff Writer, Photographer
Biography: Kaleb is excited to be at NBTB this year! She is new to the realm of journalism, and is interested in pursuing it further in the form of photo journalism. She is primarily interested in the video class featured in this program, and hopes to take these skills into the future when she does journalism around the world.
JEREMY WONG
- Grade: Junior
- School/City: Piedmont High School - Piedmont, California
- Publication: The Piedmont Highlander
- Staff Position: Staff Writers
Biography: Jeremy Wong has a passion for tech. His free time is spent with Java and APIs, and he would have it no other way.
“In coding, I love how you can create anything. It's a blank canvas, it’s a sandbox.” These loose rules, or rather the lack of them keeps him interested and always wanting more. With code Wong feels much like a photographer does in a beautiful landscape- at peace but always thinking. Given the opportunity, he would happily make a career out of it.
Wong joined NBTB in pursuit of finding the true meaning of journalism. He had been on a yearbook staff where chaos was the norm and widely accepted. This environment was something he couldn't believe actual journalism could manifest itself within. In NBTB he specifically enjoys learning about feature writing especially since it was something not specifically taught or discussed being a part of his publication, the blah blah blah blah. “I had no idea what features writing even was.” With a new outlook on journalism, Wong will be returning to Piedmont to join his newspaper staff with fresh ideas and plenty of knowledge to share.
CELINE HERRERA, 18
- Grade: Freshman
- School/City: San Francisco State University - San Francisco, California; Graduate of Clayton Valley Charter High School - Concord, California
- Publications: The Talon, Clayton Pioneer, Concord Pioneer, CC Spin
- Staff Position: Editor-in-Chief of The Talon, Editor of the CC Spin, Editor of the Public Service Academy Newsletter, and Correspondent of the Clayton Pioneer and Concord Pioneer
Biography: With already six years of experience under her belt, Celine Herrera is an eighteen-year-old journalist based out of the Bay Area. After submitting a piece to her city's local newspaper, Herrera began her career as a journalist at the mere young age of 12 at the Clayton Pioneer. She's since moved on from writing about the high and low tides of middle school, to contributing, editing, and writing articles that range from sports, news and opinion pieces.
In April 2016, she received the Journalist of the Year Award from Contra Costa County. After receiving the award, Director Steve O' Donoghue of the California Scholastic Journalism invited Herrera to Newsroom By The Bay. Herrera's favorite part about NBTB is having the chance to enhance her photography skills and be surrounded by people who have the same passion as her.
In the fall, Herrera will be attending San Francisco State University to pursue a career in journalism. She'll be double-majoring in Journalism and English, along with a minor in Women's Studies. After college she hopes to raise awareness about social issues and human rights through her work in journalism.