Lauren Ahern, reporter/photographer
by Pascal Albright
Lauren Ahern was born at the then-University Medical Center on Jan.18, 1999, into a loving family of three. As a journalism student at Pueblo high school, Lauren enjoys writing and and asking questions.
Hanging with friends and going shopping is a favorite pastime of hers. She likes to hang with friends and go with them to eat. “I like to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, because the strawberry lemonade has sugar on the rim of the glass and it’s really delicious.” Lauren also enjoys Mexican cuisine especially shredded beef tacos with mild salsa and shredded cheddar cheese. The ocean is a place where she could spend all her days. She loves sea animals, especially the sting ray. Her love for sea life drives her toward the goals of becoming a marine biologist. That interest sparked through television and watching marine life as a child and then really hit the wall when she took her first trip to SeaWorld in San Diego. Since then she has been to the beach about five or six times. Her mother lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and is someone Lauren sees as a role model. “She is a hardworking woman and she cares for everyone and that inspires me.” Lauren said. Lauren looks to continue writing and pursue journalism even if it on the side. (Audio clip to the left features Lauren and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Pascal Albright, photo editor
by Lauren Ahern
Loving to be involved with the environment, Earth-friendly Pascal Albright is passionate about cycling, gardening, writing and art.
His favorite colors — sun gold and forest green — reflect his interests well. Albright was born prematurely on Dec. 22, 1998. He was so small that his great-grandmother had to sew him clothes because the infant-size clothes didn’t fit him. Albright’s family made their way from the Midwest to the unbelievably hot Southwest, where he grew up in Tucson, where he will soon to be a senior at Tucson Magnet High School. He enjoys the weather in Tucson, though the summer can gets extremely hot. After his long school days, Albright enjoys hanging out with friends, eating at different restaurants on 4th Avenue, and thrift shopping. Once he completes high school, Albright plans to major in journalism and minor in sustainability or environmentalism. He plans to pursue a career as a writer and plans to teach literature at either a high school or collegiate level. “I’ve gained enough experience and feel like that must be shared,” Albright said. Albright loves belonging to a community for the reason that he likes having people to go to and being a part of something is important. (Audio clip to the right features Pascal and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Jane Bendickson, blog & web editor
by Thomas Lard
Jane Bendickson lives in Tucson, Arizona, she has a younger brother, Isaac, who she thought was 13 but is actually one year older. Jane wants to be a journalist, then a politician and hopes to become President of the United States. She’s a planner, she enjoys thinking ahead and is always well prepared.
When Jane was younger, she wanted nothing more than to attend the University of Arizona, but now she’s expanding her horizons and looking at other colleges. Jane has three dogs and two cats. But one of her cats acts more like a dog so the count is debatable, she said. Another one of her cats, Abby, is an angel in disguise, Jane furthered. During a vacation at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, Jane and her family rented bikes, went riding and came across a steep hill. Her father and younger brother were ahead, and when she tried to catch-up Jane battled a pothole. She tried to jump the mound unsuccessfully, and hit the ground scrapping her palms and smacking her face. Today, she’s more careful when cruising down hills. Her favorite thing to do with her free time is school work. Obviously, Jane’s very dedicated to her studies, and she participates in many extracurricular activities. She loves being busy, she said. Moreover, Jane convinced her teacher to launch the Narwhal News, Tucson City High School’s student newspaper. And although her teacher helps, Jane does about 90 percent of the work at the publication. (Audio clip to the left features Jane and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Oliver Dewey, reporter/videographer
by Destiny Martin
Oliver Dewey is a 15-year-old who wears suits every day in 90-plus degree weather. Oliver describes himself as self-motivated, which is clear by his work ethic and ambition. You can feel it radiate off him.
Oliver has dedicated his entire summer to creating a short film, and is opening himself up to more artistic outlets. And he has fallen in love with many different types of artistic expression because of his grandfather. Besides the arts, Oliver is deeply interested in studying the humanities, history and philosophical analysis posing questions like, “what it means to be human.” His favorite TV shows are “How I Met Your Mother” and “Parks and Recreation” and his musical interests include folk, bluegrass, indie rock and classic rock. Two of his favorite bands are Mumford & Sons and The Decemberists. He has one younger brother, Sullivan, and unlike typical siblings they actually get along and Oliver tends to takes care of him. One word that is important to Oliver is intelligence, and as he elaborated his tone gets very serious. “I relate it to journalism, as well as life, just constantly questioning,” he said, “an endless pursuit of an answer, and with life, looking at all sides of an issue.” (Audio clip to the right features Oliver and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Brianna Encinas, reporter/photographer
by Denay Pedro
Brianna Encinas is from Tucson’s south side. She is 17 years old and has one sister. She likes Italian food and loves to eat at Olive Garden.
Brianna describes herself as friendly, outgoing, hard working and she gives great advice. She said during this workshop everyone’s been asking, “What are your plans after high school?” She would like to get her degree in finance to become some type of business advisor. She came to this workshop because she wanted to become a stronger writer, to experience what it’s like to be a full-time journalist and to experience what it’s like to stay on the campus in the dorms. She thinks the workshops are informative and that the food is just amazing. She has enjoyed getting to meet new people and enjoys spending the time with them. She wants to become a journalist and thinks it is a job she might want to do on the side. She likes writing stories because she thinks everyone has a story to tell. (Audio clip below features Brianna and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Bianca Fuentes, photo editor
by Adrienne Graham
Bianca Fuentes was born in Tucson, attends Tucson High Magnet School and is the current editor-in-chief of the Badger’s yearbook staff. Bianca’s interest in journalism started in 5th grade while trying out for the yearbook, following yearbook into middle school and planning to stay with it through senior year.
Bianca is an outgoing, adventurous and open minded teenager who explains herself as being more appreciative while taking care of her younger brother, running, working out and being in the yearbook has kept her busy rather than having time to do crazy things. After she graduates she plans to become a forensic nurse, or an editor for a big time magazine. She has also thought about being a mom and may just blog about being a nurse. (Audio clip below features Bianca and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Adrienne Graham, reporter/photographer
by Bianca Fuentes
For high school junior Adrienne Graham, sports are not a game. For her, sports are stress relievers, incentives, and a way out of Tuba City. Growing up and being raised in a smaller town than Tucson, Graham sees that not many of her peers take education, work, or sports as seriously as she does.
She advises to try not to get distracted, or let anyone put you down. She knows that if she stays determined in her interests, they can take her and others far, along with getting a scholarship and far-reaching education in nursing. Graham believes that with nursing, she can continue with her sports, while helping people around her and learning their stories. She hopes to further her skills in journalism, and possibly tell those stories of the wounded to the world. (Audio clip below features Adrienne and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Thomas Lard, reporter/photographer
by Jane Bendickson
Thomas Lard is 16 years old and lives in Wenden, Ariz. with his mother and younger brother Robert. He has an older brother named Geoffrey who lives in Apache Junction. Geoff attended ASU, which is a big part of why Thomas wants to go to the University of Arizona.
Thomas wants to join the Marines and then be a journalist or biochemist. Joining the Marines is a family tradition that he’d like to be part of. His interest in journalism stems from an art teacher who told him he’d be good in media Thomas would like to be a biochemist because he has crazy ideas and inventions. For example, a machine eye that functions like a regular human eye and an electroshock suit that would keep underwater predators away. Thomas is an excellent speaker and storyteller. He constantly shares anecdotes about him and his family. In his free time, he likes to take walks to clear his head. Wenden is a small farming road-town that is “not too big and not too small.” (Audio clip below features Thomas and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Destiny Martin, design editor
by Oliver Dewey
Destiny Irene Martin describes herself as “goofy” and considers family and friends to be the most important part of life. She says her mother and grandmother in particular are the two most influential people in her life. Destiny is a Colorado native, but currently lives in Tucson. She attends what she considers to be her favorite school of all - Cienega High School. She likes the school because of the journalism class. The class was the catalyst for her interest in journalism and the premier reason for deciding to participate in the 2016 University of Arizona Dow Jones News Fund Journalism Diversity Workshop. Destiny said that if she were to pursue journalism as a career she would like to focus on photojournalism. She’s done it in the past and enjoys the work. A good journalist, she says, is “someone who seeks to develop a personal relationship with the public and who puts their interests and needs first.” Besides journalism, Destiny considers history to be her favorite subject. She enjoys looking into the past because it intrigues her. Her other interests are playing volleyball, which she says she has done for about five years. Her favorite author is John Green and her favorite book is “Looking for Alaska.” She also enjoys playing the flute, which she has done since she was a sixth-grader. Her musical career began alongside her brother. Growing up they both “really liked music.” This was supported by the diverse music interests of her mother and aunt. Destiny said that while her brother immediately pursued the drums, she was a little indecisive as to what musical instrument she wished to play. She dabbled in violin and clarinet before deciding on the flute. Through music, reading, and even journalism, Destiny holds true to the predominant importance of her family and friends as her inspiration, motivation, and simple support system. “I wouldn’t be who I am without my friends and family.” (Audio clip to the right features Destiny and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |
Denay Pedro, reporter/photographer
by Brianna Encinas
Breaking out of her shell and leaving it behind to explore the journeys of this 2016 Journalism Diversity Workshop, Denay Pedro now feels comfortable and just for a couple days forgets what it’s like to live on the Tohono O’odham Reservation.
Living on the reservation has its challenges, but she continues to persevere by drawing flowers and attending concerts. Her favorite memory was being in the crowd of a Baeza concert. Pedro participates on her high school yearbook committee and enjoys writing stories, which is one of the main reasons as to why she attended this workshop. “I came to this workshop because I love writing and wanted to get stronger,” Pedro said. Throughout the workshop Pedro says she made new friends and got over her fear of talking. “I’m meeting new people and getting to know them,” Pedro said. She doesn’t take an interest in dogs, but cats, on the other hand, she adores. “I have four cats, I love them because they’re playful”, I hate dogs because all they do is jump on you,” Pedro said. (Audio clip below features Denay and Chad Mosher of the health and wellness center Living Out Loud, which supports LGBTQ people and their families and friends). |