Category: Profiles

By Moriah Pettway
Baldwin High School

Miles Reese’s creativity and passion for playing the saxophone and painting also influences his writing. 

The rising senior at Copiague High School was born in Mineola and raised in Copiague with his younger sister Natalie Reese, his mom Ann Reese and dad Garry Reese. “What I like about Miles is how kind-hearted he is,” his mom said. “What I love about Miles is how humorous he is,” his sister added. 

Miles has been playing the saxophone for about nine years and painting for two to three. He is also active in extracurricular activities, including Mock Trial, Marching Band, and Track and Field. 

But Miles’ major interest is journalism. He has been writing since middle school. “In seventh grade, I had a teacher named Ms. Ingenito and she saw the hidden potential in me. She noticed my public speaking skills and she wanted to see more of that in my writing, so she put me in Achieve3000 for students who were exceptional in writing, and it really shaped me as a writer.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in developing Miles’ writing skills, “I had a lot of alone time and found out who I truly am…. That’s where my love for analyzing politics and journalism came from.” 

As a young black man aspiring to be a journalist, the murdering of George Floyd was a pivotal point in Miles’ life, “I remember in the summer they shut the roads down and I heard Black Lives Matter and I was like ‘I’m living through history.’” 

Watching correspondents such as Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon inspired Miles to further pursue his interest in journalism. “There’s a segment on CNN called Prime Time with Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon and the way they connect to the audience is so natural and it proves that they don’t just do their show because they have to. They do their show because they enjoy it.” 

He feels that he has a lot to offer to the field of journalism. “I want to be that person that bridges the gap between everyday people and their understanding of politics.” 

Once Miles concluded that journalism was something that he was truly passionate about, he began taking the initiative to find programs where he could strengthen his skills. So Miles is very enthusiastic about spending a week at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists. Through the program, “I’m hoping to find even more confidence in public speaking.”

By Shayaan Tirmizi

Oona Montandon has been interested in journalism since kindergarten, when she wrote a profile on a school security guard and liked the experience.

In first grade, she wrote for her school newspaper. And in 2012, Oona wrote a few articles for a youth paper called Firecracker.

Oona, now 17, of Windsor Terrace in Brooklyn, is a rising senior at Millennium Brooklyn High School where she can pursue her passion for writing and journalism.

“As of right now, I’m just really enjoying getting to know and better understand journalism,” she said, “but I think my favorite thing about it is probably getting to hear from so many different people, and putting new perspectives into the world.”

Oona’s journalism experience has impacted her 15-year-old sister Daphne.

“The way Oona used writing to tell her stories inspired me to also become a storyteller,” Daphne said. “However, I don’t think it would be through writing, but instead film.” 

Oona’s parents, Catherine and Maccabee, are also journalists. Catherine writes for GrowNYC and Maccabee is a freelance editor. Both parents have given Oona advice on how to be a successful journalist.

“My dad is a big believer in ‘don’t do things you hate,’ so although he wouldn’t encourage quitting, I’ve learned from him that you don’t have to be miserable with what you do, and the best work you’ll produce is when you’re doing things you enjoy.”

Oona said she imagined being an investigative journalist, but she is also intrigued by the idea of becoming a music critic. 

In her free time, Oona likes to write poetry, hang out with friends and play soccer. She also has a part-time job as a restaurant hostess. 

“Living in Brooklyn and living off the subway has given me so much more freedom than I’d imagine I’d have living outside the city. I feel so lucky to be able to go on my own or with friends to new places every day.”

When it comes to life after high school, Oona said, “I’ve always fantasized about going to Europe for college, someplace like Trinity [College Dublin] because I have Irish citizenship.” She’d also love to go to Claremont College, “or someplace on the East Coast, maybe Stony Brook! I’m still figuring it out for sure.” 

If journalism doesn’t work out, Oona is interested in studying linguistics.

Oona wanted to attend the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists because “I wanted to learn more about journalism and this seemed like a great crash course.”

Oona said she intends to leave a lasting impact on the field. “I definitely want to reimagine the ethical considerations of journalism. In a social media world, real journalism can be used to dispel misinformation and even save lives. I think navigating ‘the truth’ in the upcoming years is going to be really important, and a discussion I’d like to be a part of.”

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.”

By Isabella Lenarduzzi
Kings Park High School

T’Neil Gooden is striving to become the first person in her family to pursue a writing-based career in journalism.

T’Neil is a 17-year-old rising senior at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences in Brooklyn.

Alysia Charles, a friend of T’Neil’s, explains that, “T’Neil truly has a way with words, which is evident if you read her writing. With her persistence I feel she would go far in journalism.”

T’Neil talked about her love of reading, with her favorite book being Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch. Not only does T’Neil love reading, she pays close attention to all things she reads, revealing that she has a long-running note on her phone where she keeps track of quotes that she finds throughout her day that are important to her. 

She also said her favorite movie is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is a movie that heavily focuses on a character who loves literature and at the same time is figuring out who he is and what his place is in the society that he lives in.

T’Neil reflects that after coming to New York from Jamaica, she “felt really out of place [in this] new environment because it was so populated [but] as the years went on I started to come out of my shell.” 

In watching The Perks of Being a Wallflower, this feeling of loneliness or separation from the crowd may not have been a new feeling to her, and she may have felt a connection to this story for this reason, as well as because of her love of literature.

Similar to the main character of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, T’Neil’s favorite teacher she has had to date is her freshman year English teacher, Mr. Oleson. This teacher ultimately inspired her interest in writing and journalism. 

When she’s at school T’Neil is not heavily involved in any sort of journalism programs but she is still very interested in her school’s academics and extracurriculars. T’Neil is part of her school’s Black Student Union and she created a club called Future Preparation Club, which works to help her fellow students become prepared for college and life beyond high school. 

T’Neil’s interest in journalism also stems from years of watching the news every morning and night with her family. This constant exposure led to her interest in becoming a broadcast journalist for a cable TV network. 

 In terms of what she’d like from the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists, T’Neil said, “the one thing that I want to gain is exposure and more of an understanding [of what journalism is]. You watch YouTube videos of what journalism is but nothing is really specific enough for me to [know] this is what I want to do.”

By Sophia Herrera
Our Lady of Mercy Academy

Around the age of eight, Julia Capitelli became fixated on the field of sports journalism.

Her parents would always find her watching the NHL or reading an article about a recent hockey game. She would watch or read any source of news she could get her hands on. This exposed her to the injustices between sexes and races in the journalism industry.

 “There is a significant gap in the hockey sports broadcasting industry between men and women,” the rising senior at North Shore High School said. “There are still far more men than women. It’s been dominated by the men forever.”

“Julia is a fierce fighter for the underrepresented, with women being the main category there,” her father, Steve Capitelli, added. As she grew up, Julia was exposed to her family’s love for the New York Rangers. Her family bonded over watching a Rangers game and analyzing it.  Although she has never played the game, her passion for hockey quickly consumed an enormous portion of her life. 

As Julia continued to grow, she developed a love for writing. She decided she wanted to use her skills to promote the hockey broadcasting industry and to be an advocate for women in sports journalism. “I always feel like there’s a part of her that would love to write scathing pieces about injustice,” her father said.

Julia has calculated the tedious steps she must take to make it to her new dream job at NHL Network. First, she reached out to a New York Rangers blog titled foreverblueshirts. She was given a chance to write for the blog and continues to do so almost weekly. Her posts on the blog consist of her deep analysis of games. Unlike other journalists, Julia not only studies the main events of each game but also the actions of players and coaches away from the puck. 

The next step she took was joining the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists. Julia applied because she wants to write in a more journalistic style. “Right now, a lot of my writing can sound like an essay I would write in English class, so I need to get used to the journalism style of writing,” she acknowledged. She also aims to get more of an understanding of broadcast media. “Overall, I’m looking for this week to be the first step to a career in journalism.”

“As far as journalism goes, I think it is really important that people get the truth,” she said. It was distressing for her to see the lack of truth in some of the news in recent years.

“It would be nice to be someone that just writes articles,” Julia concluded. “But I also think I would be really into broadcast media and to be a face that people see as a part of women’s representation in the field,”

By Chadwick Roy
Mathematics, Science Research, And Technology Magnet High School

Nothing about Chloe Findlay would hint that she once played the part of Pinocchio, but she did in a winter play at her high school. Even her mom couldn’t quite believe it. “It was just a sight to see,” her mother said of the athletic and energetic rising junior. 

Chloe’s energy is apparent. She says she wants to do everything when it comes to sports or “anything she can get her hands on.” 

She proved this when she got her softball team at LUHI in Glen Head to pull together while students at  the school, Long Island Lutheran High School, were home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her mother said, “Chloe went straight into action, doing fundraisers, creating a Twitter account for her softball team, and recruiting other young women to be a part of the team.” Because of this, the team went undefeated that whole year and made it to the finals, but fell short by one run. 

Other activities she is involved in include journalism, tae kwon do, music and acting. 

In an interview, Chloe’s journalism teacher, Eric Belyea, said that Chloe is one of those students who, “if they put their mind to it you can consider it already done.” Belyea noted that when he met Chloe in the January semester class, she was quite timid, but once she found her “mojo” within journalism she was hooked. He also said that Chloe was truly a hard worker from the start of the class to the end.

It was her journalism teacher who encouraged her to attend the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists at Stony Brook University. Chloe agreed that attending this program would sharpen her skills because she would like to be a newscaster, or newswriter. Baylea says that if Chloe sets her mind to it, she will succeed. 

Vanessa Osse, a rising senior at LUHI, said she doesn’t know Chloe well, but they have classes together. “Even though Chloe is a grade below us, she’s super smart and takes honors courses with upperclassmen.”  Those who know her would agree that between her extracurricular activity and her classwork, Chloe Findlay shows where hard work can get you in life. Even if it’s on stage with a long nose!