Nova Martinez
School: Northview High School
Hometown: Glendora, CA
Local PBS Station: PBS SoCal
Six-word memoir: Being an Artist, Defending my home
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
After creating comics and artwork, I enjoyed collaborations.
What story are you most proud of?
My presentation on mental health for USC.
How can youth media change the world?
By working together and creating change for others.
Who is your role model?
My family.
Kylee Hamm
School: Mid-Maine Technical Center
Hometown: Waterville, ME
Local PBS Station: Maine Public Broadcasting Network
Six-word memoir: Never give up; I’ll go places .
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I have always been very curious. I love to learn new things, and I’m very social. I got involved in storytelling because it’s something that makes me happy, and I want to share stories with other people and hopefully make them happy too.
What story are you most proud of?
The story I am most proud of would be my citizens science piece. It is a study about Arsenic in Maine and New Hampshire’s groundwater. What this study is trying to do is connect with students and their teachers to get them to participate in collecting samples and get them connected in science that matters to them. This study collects samples of well water and then the samples get sent to a lab at Dartmouth College and they get tested for a variety of potentially harmful elements such as Arsenic. Then the results get sent back to the students through a website called, Anecdata, and that is where they learn if their well water is dangerous and ways they can go about fixing the situation. I have spent a little over a month on this piece and it will be shown nationally as well as being on Maine Public Television. It is also up for an Emmy next year. It’s a project that I am very proud of, and I love that the data that we are all collecting is important and by people seeing and hearing my story they will know more about it and essentially it will make a difference.
How can youth media change the world?
In this day and age everything is very technology based. The media is always growing and what better way to share things through media then the youth. We are growing into this media filled world and we should be the ones to make a difference in it.
Who is your role model?
My role model is my mom. She has been a single mom almost all my life, and I owe her a lot. She is the reason I am who I am today. Growing up she never let me say “I can’t.” She always showed me there is a way and I can do it. She has always done everything. She never gives up, and and she never lets me either. She pushes me to be the best that I can be. Having her teach me that at such a young age has really helped me in getting this far. Every struggle I’ve been through, I got through it, and to see all my hard work really start to come together is just amazing, and to have her by my side is very important to me. I am very thankful for her and everything she has taught me and still continues to teach me everyday.
Sam Stolpe
School: Wauwatosa East High School
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Local PBS Station: Milwaukee PBS and Wisconsin Public Television
Six-word memoir: I’m always happier with my mandolin.
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
Inform/change people’s mindsets on topic that normally cause our society to suffer Like fixing stereotypes, and just making the world a better place.
What story are you most proud of?
Project Q is a youth community for LGBTQ youth living in and around Milwaukee. A friend and group member went there, so I wanted to enlighten my school with a short video.
How can youth media change the world?
If our voice is heard, it shows that we can make a change that could impact society more than if an adult did it.
Who is your role model?
Steve Hartman-Keisers
Jazmyne Viloria
School: Maui Waena Intermediate School
Hometown: Kahului, Maui
Local PBS Station: PBS Hawaii
Six-word memoir: Capturing the moments, creating the story
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I chose to get involved in storytelling because there was only so much you could do with a paper and pencil. I wanted another way of expressing my creativity, then I found it storytelling. At first I was encouraged to continue storytelling because of the camerawork. However, as I kept producing videos I realized that I was not only encouraged by the camerawork, but the drive to keep hearing more stories. When I hear a person’s story I try to take what they learned through their journey, and use it to guide me through the many decisions like whether I should speak up to choosing between family and friends. Storytelling gave me more than just a creative outlet; it gave me a new passion, perspective, and peregrination.
What story are you most proud of?
The story I am most proud of is one on a local tattoo shop called Octopus Ink. I take pride in this story not because of the beautiful, alluring, and riveting b-roll; but the message it portrayed. The business owner, Jim Knoppel, was inspired to open his own tattoo shop because of his passion for drawing and the idea of being able to turn a vision in your head into reality. With this story, it showed that art can go beyond the regular white canvas. Art is anything that once was a idea. It’s not about the technique or the amount of money you spent on it, but the amount of passion and creativity the artist poured into their work.
How can youth media change the world?
Youth media can change the world by showing the world what the people of tomorrow can really do. Hearing the phrase, “…for a kid,” after a comment is a peeve of mine; however it only encourages me to get better. With youth media, we collaborate with each other to produce videos that we give 110 percent to. Also, we communicate with our peers on how we can improve on our skills. Youth media is the answer to showing the world of what us kids are capable of.
Who is your role model?
My role model is Logan Tsukiyama. She is no celebrity, but she is the most ambitious, caring, easy-going, and dedicated person I have ever met. I got to know her through Maui Waena media club. Every day I went, I remember she was either collaborating with her group, editing a video, or trying to improve her skills on literally anything. From after effects to camera skills, she would do anything to be the best she can be. Luckily, she wasn’t the kind of person to boast or be self-absorbed; she’s the kind of person who would literally help you in a second. Even if she didn’t know the solution herself, she would try to help you. Her personality, in simple words, is extraordinary. She can turn a dark moment into a moment you would look back on and laugh; if you needed a shoulder to cry on or just a silly high-five, she’s there for you. To summarize her in one sentence, her talents are unbelievable and her magical personality can make you laugh louder than a lion’s roar, some might even say she is a unicorn.
Diana Rincon
School: Northview High School
Hometown: Covina, CA
Local PBS Station: PBS SoCal
Six-word memoir: Some may try, but I strive.
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I chose to get involved in storytelling because I know that many other people whose stories are never told, and I want to tell theirs, as well as my own. Also, I’ve always loved digital media.
What story are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my Northview Girls Wrestling story because that program is truly a family, and it meant a lot to me when I was in the program, and I wanted to do a story that would show their story and my feelings for it.
How can youth media change the world?
Youth media can change the world because we are the future. We are going to be the people who will impact the lives of the youth behind us; we will be the ones informing others.
Who is your role model?
My role model is probably anyone who came from nothing and turned themselves into something. That’s pretty broad, so maybe Albert Einstein
Lilly Waterfall
School: Royal Oak High School
Hometown: Royal Oak, Michigan
Local PBS Station: DPTV
I will be a 2019 SRL Student Correspondent, capturing behind the scenes moments at the academy. I was a 2018 Fellow. SRL is truly one of the best things I have ever been a part of. My first year with SRL allowed me to reach out into the community to see whats happening right around me! I got to work on a piece for SRL and I got to go into Detroit and interview people from Quicken Loans to see what they are doing to help the youth.
This year, I got to work on a piece for the STEM assignment about The Flint Water Crisis. This one was truly life changing. I really got to see what is happening in Flint and how lead in water effects peoples health. It allowed me to go out, and see what’s happening around me and find out the science behind all of it.
In my Film class I have learned a lot. Not only with PBS have I learned how to conduct interviews and be a journalist, but in Mr. Conrad’s Advanced 3rd year Video Production class, I have also learned skills to write, produce and direct my own short film and fiction pieces. Having the two of these paired together really lets me express myself in film, whether its through journalism or through short films.
Youth Media, to me, is very important. PBS SRL allows us to express ourselves but also get to work like we will one day, but in high school! The youth is the next group of journalists who will be telling the stories, reporting the truth, with SRL we get the experience of how to report the news honestly and unbiased. This helps us for the rest of our lives in the industry. The youth has the capability to get new stories from a new interesting angle and society needs to hear what the youth has to say because we are the future!
Wyatt Burichka
School: Cody High School
Hometown: Cody, Wyoming
Local PBS Station: Wyoming PBS
Six-word memoir: Real Life. Real Sports. Real Connections
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I watched a lot of sports documentaries and sports talk shows. This became an interest and passion.
What story are you most proud of?
My second amendment piece. PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs became involved with this piece. This story is a piece about a walk out protesting peoples’ second amendment rights. The process took a great deal of time to make it the best that it could be.
How can youth media change the world?
I believe that youth media can change the world by demonstrating different outlets that can promote a world view that reports factual information with youth as the target audience. I believe that a misrepresentation of the facts distorts the truth and does not allow for youth to be educated on real world issues.
Who is your role model?
Collin Coward
Chloe McCarron
School: Etiwanda High School
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Local PBS Station: PBS SoCal
Six-word memoir: What’s the worst that could happen?
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I chose to get involved in storytelling because I wanted to be able to voice my opinion and I noticed that very few students were reporters.
What story are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my mental health story because of how professional it looked and how much work we put into it.
How can youth media change the world?
We can provide a different perspective on popular media. We show not only what happens in the adult world, but our own.
Who is your role model?
Bob Ross
Isaiah Harley
School: Trumbull Career and Technical Center
Hometown: Fowler, OH
Local PBS Station: WGBH
Six-word memoir: Greatness and persistence are the same.
Why did you choose to get involved in storytelling?
I love being able to show people stories many in the world may not see. I enjoy telling the stories of people in interesting ways.
What story are you most proud of?
For Business Professionals of America, two teammates and I covered the story of the Amy Lowe Award, an award for speech and debate competitors that was created in memory of a student who was influential in speech and debate in the region. The video and the entire story turned out very well in my opinion.
How can youth media change the world?
The youth know way more than older generations seem to think. Gen Z has made great efforts in positively changing this country and the world from March for our Lives to the climate marches happening across the world and more. And youth media is the same, the youth have a different perspective compared to older generations and which I feel progresses society.
Who is your role model?
My role model is Damien Chazelle, the director of La La Land, as the film inspired me to get into creative story making.