< YPC Reporter Spotlight >

Alexandria Kim

11th grade at Sunny Hills High School

What is your role in the Youth Press Corps?

I am a reporter in YPC and the president of the entire GoBLin World (the community service organization that is behind YPC). I’ve been in YPC for a year and a half now and have had at least 22 articles published.

What is your favorite topic to report on?

Societal issues, such as women’s rights, cultural diversity, and gun law reform.

Title of your favorite article:

“Explosion in Nashville on Christmas Day”

What is challenging about reporting?

It’s always challenging to find a topic that I want to report about. I prefer to write about things that actually interest me at least somewhat. I can’t even read the first paragraph of an article about something I’m not interested in. Something else that is very challenging is making sure to be accurate about my information. There are often articles that have information that is wrong, so it’s always important to me to read through several articles about the topic so that I know that everything I write is accurate and that I am not misinforming anyone. 

What is rewarding about reporting?

The most rewarding thing about reporting is the fact that other people are reading my article and that they are being informed about a topic that they may not have known about. Specifically in this group, just being published is a reward in itself as it means I’ve written an article of good quality that deserves to be published, which is always a good feeling.

What advice would you give to other students interested in journalism?

I would advise that you take any opportunity you can get. I feel that, especially in journalism, it’s important to look around for opportunities and take as many as you can. In the past few years, I’ve done a lot of journalism, from writing in a city newspaper to joining the yearbook class at my school and this group. However, I still feel that there are so many more opportunities that I could have taken that I may not have even known about because I didn’t bother to search for them. 

Another piece of advice I would like to give is to find as many people as you can to read your writing. Prior to joining YPC, I never liked other people reading and commenting on my work and felt that it was unnecessary. However, once I joined YPC, I realized how helpful it actually is and how much it helps me improve my writing. Now, I can’t stand to turn something in without having at least one person read it through and tell me what they think. I also think it’s super important to have other people read my writing because they can catch any small mistakes that I might have missed.