I have been swimming since I was very young and now am on three teams. I swim for my High Schools varsity team, the Capitol Sea-Devils and my neighborhood team The Somerset Dolphins. I love swimming because it brings a sense of community and great team bonding. As well as playing sports, I also enjoy taking photos. In the spring of my freshman year of high school I took photos for the girls lacrosse team and helped out taking photos for The Dolphins. Photography and writing both are parts of my interest which is why media and journalism are paths I would love to continue to learn and explore.

I have attended a sleep away camp in Hartford, Maine since 2018 named Camp Wekeela. I learned many important traits there. I am a very independent person from camp, and it taught me to make and keep in touch with friends all over the globe. When I was young, I waited all year just to go back. Those 2 months in the place I called my second home was all I cared about. However I think one of the most important aspects was not having my phone or other electronics. In 2024 we are all attached to the hip with our phones and its important to remember how to be with people without then.

I am dyslexic, so things come to me a bit harder then some others. My education in London was struggle as kids are taught to read around 5 to 6 years old. It wasn’t until I moved to Maryland that my teacher caught my struggle. I attended a program to reteach me to read. Growing up I thought having dyslexia was the end of the world, but as I have grown up it has taught me to look at things differently. I challenge myself and take classes that other kids who also have learning challenges don’t usually take. I took AP government my freshman year. It was a great chance to see how AP classes are formatted and taught me what to and not to do for my future AP courses.

I love spending time with my friends and family, I am the oldest of 3. I have younger brother who is 13, a younger sister who is 10 and a dog named Archie. I love to travel and listen to music and I am very excited to get my license. I went to Stagecoach Music Festival in April in Palm Springs, California where Coachella is.That’s it from me!

Hi readers, My name is Grace and I’m about to enter my junior year of high school. I’m originally from New York City but I spent 4 years in Washington D.C and am now going on to my second year living in Palm Beach, Florida. I spent my sophomore year and now going into my junior year at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach. I have little experience in the journalism aspect of writing but I have always had a peaked interest in poetry and short stories. I am now interested in learning about journalism because I want to write for my school paper and help put the yearbook together, and I’m hoping journalism can help cement some fundamentals of writing for me. Writing has always been something I enjoyed learning more about, I also enjoy reading articles and blogs which is another reason I’m interested in Journalism.

I’ve now moved three times across the U.S. from New York City to Washington D.C. to Florida; this has helped shape me into who I am right now. It is fair to say I’ve had many different experiences and I’ve been exposed to different styles of life and circumstances which has helped me mature and evolve quicker than the average teenager. By spending most of my formative years in NYC and Washington D.C., I’ve cemented certain values, societal views, and judgments that threw me into a culture shock after moving to Florida. I am grateful for being able to experience all different kinds of places and livelihoods but it’s been a struggle to figure out exactly who I am and where I belong. I believe this is part of the reason journalism has caught my eye. At a young age, there are already topics, controversies, and societal issues I want to talk about because of the things I’ve been exposed to growing up.

Living in cities most of my life, I never really got into the whole sports world until I started going to an all-girls sleepaway camp. I was 7 years old when I was introduced to the sailboat, and ever since then, sailing has been my outlet for everything. I was so infatuated with sailing that for four years in a row, I triple-booked sailing on my camp schedule so I could do it all day, over and over again. Everyone thought it was silly but now sailing is an advantage I have, especially once moving to Florida. I now get the chance to sail competitively and I get to be part of a team for the next two years there is nothing I find more joy in than doing what inspires me and getting to be part of a team during this time of my life.

I’m pretty much an open book, I love binge-watching shows with my mom, and I’m especially into British murder mysteries right now. I have Raising Canes at least twice a week and I love to drive around with my friends whenever we’re bored. I love teddy bears, I’ve been building my collection since I was 5 years old and I’m going to keep collecting. I go back home to Washington D.C. at least once a month so I can be with my friends and family there. Living in Florida has been really nice, my friends and I take any opportunity we can to tan at the beach (which is every day). I love to laugh, 99% of the time if you see me I’m laughing. This is a quick overview of my life and where I am right now!

Peace – Grace Bennett

“Alright, people. Let’s start at the beginning one last time.”

I’m Averi, a graduate student pursuing a master’s in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia. I also attended UGA during my time as an undergraduate and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in English and Spanish. I grew up about two hours south of Athens in a somewhat small town called Griffin.

As a graduate student, I focus largely on the visual aspects of journalism and mass media and the ways that audiences interact with and perceive this media. I’m also a graduate assistant for Columns, the university’s online newspaper. With Columns, I love writing profiles and meeting some really cool people around campus. It’s given me the chance to explore different parts of UGA that I normally wouldn’t think about. For example, I had the great pleasure of meeting one of the people that helped create a termite mound that’s currently sitting in the gorilla enclosure at Zoo Atlanta.

I’ve also worked with other publications such as The Red & Black, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and InfUSion Magazine as a writer, photographer and editor for various desks. I really love movies (gold star if you can guess my favorite movie based on this blog post), so one of my favorite things that I’ve done while at UGA is cover Backlight, an annual student-organized film festival.

Two Truths and a Lie:
– I once watched all twelve seasons of The Big Bang Theory in a month.
– Until the 8th grade, I was dead set on working for the CIA because I was obsessed with spy and detective novels.
– I was my region’s spelling bee champion for 5 years in a row during grade school.