Gabrielle Sanders
Roosevelt High School
Although she’s 16, Araya White has found something that many people fail to find at all ages – her voice.
For the rising senior at Uniondale High School, writing isn’t just a school requirement. It’s a form of expression in a loud world that can drown out voices and often silences them.
“I like to be able to actually create what I want in my writing,” she said, explaining that it’s a way for her to communicate with those around her.
Araya got her exposure to and love of journalism from an English class teacher, who had been a journalist and screenwriter. Writing, she said, is her safe place; a space where she can really show her feelings compared to other subjects, like science and math, that are more rigid.
Her need to express herself has inspired her to start a podcast. For her, she said, it’s not about followers, but about giving herself the opportunity to step out of her shy comfort zone and to speak out about issues in the real world, like nursing, healthcare and pet adoptions. “Through podcasts, I’ll be able to speak out about different problems around the world,” she said. “It’ll help me because it will give me more confidence to speak out.”
She also wants to inspire others to do the same, she said, just like she was encouraged when she saw other podcasters expressing themselves.
Of course, at the heart of anyone’s journey is family. Her dad, uncle, siblings and other family members push her to strive and do her best everyday. “Everybody just tells me to keep going, very supportive,” Araya said.
“Through podcasts, I’ll be able to speak out about different problems around the world,” she said. “It’ll help me because it will give me more confidence to speak out.”
– Araya White
“Araya has a great way of speaking to people and captivating people through her imagination,” her godmother Judith McLean said. “Araya is very amenable, very friendly and she loves to joke.”
Like most people, Araya has hobbies. For Araya, it’s baking and music. She likes them because they bring people together. “They make me more relatable,“ she said. “My hobbies make me able to speak to people.”
Araya views the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists as another opportunity to meet and speak to people. “I wanted to find something I wanted to do in high school and I really liked writing so I thought that this would be a great opportunity,” she said. She also expects to learn how to write productively so she is able to fulfill her dreams of becoming a better writer and communicator.
Whether it is through podcasting or writing in her English class, Araya will never stop striving to share her voice to the world as her story continues to unfold. “I just really like writing a lot,” she said. “It makes me happy.”