By Araya White
Uniondale High School
Growing up in the rural area of Greenport, N.Y., was hard for Faith Welch, who recalls being bullied or overlooked by others. However, everything that happened has helped shape her journey of perseverance and dedication to truth-telling.
Faith is in the 11th grade at Greenport High School, where she likes to write articles and opinion pieces for her school newspaper and a weekly community newspaper, The Suffolk Times. One of her stories was titled “Why Everyone Should Celebrate Juneteenth,” showing why Black culture should be celebrated. She also wrote an article on why preservation is important to both the environment and history, encouraging people of all backgrounds to celebrate African American culture along with her.
Faith said one of her goals for the future is a career in journalism, with a focus on showing the struggles that African Americans experience in their communities. When Faith applied for, and earned acceptance to, the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists, she said she felt “happy and surprised” that she got picked.
“This will help in five years with jobs, and help with writing on a deadline when it gets hard,” said Faith.
She also said it will help build her résumé and show her the experience of journalists in the real world.
One of Faith’s mentors, Nicki Gohorel, the cofounder of the North Fork chapter of Coming to the Table, said she has known Faith for more than two years. “Time has gone by and Faith has found her voice,” Gohorel said, adding that Faith is also “able to communicate well with others.”
While Faith doesn’t often say “no,” Gohorel said, it reminds her of herself. Faith “has a strong voice when she speaks in her truth for what she is passionate about,” Gohorel said.