By Alex Chen
John Dewy High School
Noel Gonzalez, a 16-year-old rising junior at Bard High School Early College Queens, has a tremendous passion for writing.
“Literature is my favorite class,” said Noel, a resident of the Bronx. Whenever he has an opportunity to write about a book that his class uses or he reads voluntarily, he will use it as an inspiration for a creative piece.
Debates and arguments are Noel’s main speciality, and he’s always picking up interesting points to develop an insightful essay or even a story. “He has written for different reasons and he makes very thoughtfully arguments. He’s a thinker; that’s come through in his writing,” said Limarys Caraballo, Noel’s mother.
Reading is another subject that Noel has a passion for. He is intrigued by intense, psychological literature that requires a deep analysis to fully comprehend what the characters are thinking.
Noel also is captivated by politics. He’s always seeking articles that would deliver some information of what’s happening worldwide. Noel’s vast interest for political news and literature, attracted him to journalism. “Writing about political things was the closest I got to journalism, in terms of finding a story and chasing it,” he said.
Noel also had the urge to discover what it takes to be a journalist. He wanted to understand the research and writing employed by reporters to have their stories approved. “He’s more interested in what’s takes to become a journalist,” his mother said. “The kinds of skills that journalists develop and need to do their work well. He’s still trying to find out what his own interests are, but journalism combines a lot of things that he finds interesting.” She thought the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists would enable Noel to experience a professional journalism environment.
By attending the Greene Institute, Noel hopes to enhance his writing skills by being exposed to new writing styles, such as building a script for a broadcast or reporting a story. Noel also desires to be a better interviewer and “actually try to schedule interviews. Hopefully I can learn more about finding the correct people to interview.”
He also wants to become a better video editor. “Would be cool to experience something new like Clipchamp,” Noel said. He has some practice with iMovie; therefore using another editing platform such as Clipchamp would improve his editing skills. “
“Would be cool to branch out my writing,” Noel said, “since I’ve never really written many papers as a reporter.”