By Chloe Findlay
Long Island Lutheran Middle and High School
A dribble up the court, a ball flying through the air, fans rising out of their seats, hearts in their throats, SWISH! This is the way Chadwick Roy, a rising senior at Mathematics, Science Research and Technology Magnet High School in Cambria Heights, Queens, got into journalism.
An NBA playoffs game in 2020 with his friends and family led to a realization for Chadwick–or more realistically–his friends. As Chad and his friends were watching the game, Chad got more and more upset by what a sports journalist was saying. Chad recalled that “he was saying that this team wasn’t going to make it, but I’m telling you, this team IS going to make it. They don’t have an all-star, but they are a good team, they have a good core…and that team so happened to go all the way to the finals.”
That’s when his step-dad turned to him and suggested he try journalism. Chad recalled his step-dad telling him, “You know your facts. You should try to learn how to be a journalist, be on TNT as a career”.
Chad started focusing on his writing more. And with the help from a favorite teacher, Ms.Richardson, he applied for the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists. He was slightly reluctant to apply. “Some writing programs are boring, but my English teacher brought it to me, my journalism teacher brought it to me. They.told me it’s a good program…and so far it’s been good”
As for what field of journalism Chadwick wants to go into, it’s always been sports. “I started writing in the sports section of my school paper. It just clicked. I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
When he and his brother, Jeremy, were younger, their dad used to watch them play basketball. His dad’s passing in 2020 was a driving factor that kept Chad playing sports, pursuing journalism and working towards all of his many goals.
His 15-year-old sister Sydney recalls SAT season when “he was studying every single day, and he was like ‘everyone, you need to be quiet right now.’” But when it comes to his sports, he is even more motivated. “I’ll go outside and play with him, and my little brother sometimes…and when he’s really into it, I’m like, you can’t block the 9-year-old, Chadwick..
Chadwick’s family is his greatest support system. Jeremy, Chad’s 9 year-old little brother, said “I’m always there for Chadwick and he’s always there for me.”. Sydney says the two brothers are inseparable. When the two are playing basketball, “they’re always on the same team, they never split”.
His mom was also a huge part of his success in life and in journalism so far. Chadwick remembers that “my mom would always tell me to write. Write for this, write for that. At that age I thought it was boring.”