Embedded Files
In journalism, having a front-row seat to information also means being responsible for whose voices are heard in moments that matter. As a leader and editor on The Paly Voice, I believe it is essential that our coverage reflects the full diversity of our community, especially during breaking news and sensitive events. To hold ourselves accountable to this standard, The Paly Voice conducts a data analysis at least once a year to examine the types of sources we interview and identify whose perspectives may be underrepresented. This process guides both my reporting and our staff’s approach to ensuring our journalism serves the entire community.
The Paly Voice conducts a Diversity Audit in which we analyze how diverse our sources are. We gather this information by having each staff member fill out a Google Form detailing the ethnicity, gender and race of the sources they interviewed for stories published that year. We conducted one during my junior year, and I organized another during my senior year to compare the results. I think that this stategy is effect in at least getting staff members to think about the kind of sources they tend to use for their stories. The next step will be to implement a strategy to prioritize a more diverse range of stories and as a result, more diverse sources.
This is the schoolwide diversity of 2024 that we compared to our sourcing.
Race data from December 2024.
Age data from December 2024.
Race data from 2026 shows the largest groups as 47% White/Caucasian, 21% East Asian and 11% mixed race.
Age data from 2026 shows the largest groups as adults ages 40–60 (25%), juniors (23%) and seniors (17%).
Gender data from 2026 shows an even split, with 50% cisgender men and 49% cisgender women.
After presenting the diversity audit data to the class, I shared it with the staff the following day. I encouraged them to review the data and consider ways we could continue diversifying our sources.
Global Reach
Several of my stories required reporting beyond my local community, pushing me to interview sources across the country and internationally. My reporting has included interviews with the Santa Clara County district attorney, a program director in Washington, D.C., and an international film professor.
During the summer before my senior year, I participated in a Global Volunteer trip to Siedlce, Poland, alongside a Voice managing editor. We spent the trip mentoring Ukrainian refugees and Polish children in English. One day in particular stood out when a program translator shared that the students wanted to spend time simply exchanging stories with us — hearing about life in the United States and sharing their own experiences.
Despite language barriers, we were able to communicate through storytelling, and their enthusiasm reinforced why I value journalism. As a journalist, my role is to share people’s stories accurately and thoughtfully. In doing so, I am not only informing others but also helping audiences connect with experiences beyond their immediate communities.
My friend and I are on the cover photo for an edition of Paly Incubator's travel magazine Via Verde. A Paly Voice managing editor and I are in Krakow over the weekend prior to volunteering with Ukrainian refugees and Polish children.
At the conclusion of the first week of the program, my mom, the Voice managing editor, and I took a group picture with the children we were mentoring.
I am helping my students pronounce English words and numbers duing a goldfish activity.
I am walking with a group of girls from the program after I organized an outside activity.
Before high school, my family lived in London for two years. Attending a school filled with students from around Europe and the world sparked my innate sense of adventure and curiosity for different cultures, ways of life, and perspectives. That curiosity has directly shaped my drive as a journalist and my desire to have a front-row seat to history as it unfolds. I want to be where decisions are made, and I want to highlight underrepresented voices through my reporting.
One of my favorite stories I covered about the Cambodia scam industry allowed me to focus on an issue and a group of people few others were paying attention to. Journalism gives me the ability to inform, amplify, and bring hidden stories into public view, and I believe my fascination with the unknown is what motivates me to do everything I can to share those untold stories with others.
Diverse Voices
This story took me a while to find a hook. I knew that there were several female teachers at my school who were teaching complicated subjects and doing it in an inspiring way. I ended up interviewing each of them twice. The second time I interviewed the computer science teacher, I asked just the right questions that invited her to share a rather gruesome experience with her feeling unsafe late at night in the computer lab because of inappropriate behavior from male peers. This story highlighted the untold stories of these influential teachers. This story showed me that being a journalist means listening closely and responding thoughtfully to ensure important, uncomfortable truths are not ignored.
In my coverage of the 'Around the World' festival, I highlighted the diversity of cultures represented in the Palo Alto community. The article features voices from Lithuanian artists and event organizers explaining how cultural representation can foster appreciation across different groups and give visibility to identities that might otherwise go unnoticed. By reporting on this event, I helped bring timely, inclusive information to the public and elevated diverse perspectives.
When writing this profile, I focused on a student whose football experience challenges traditional gender norms in sports. By highlighting a female athlete’s journey in a male-dominated sport, the article elevates voices and perspectives that are often overlooked in athletics and school coverage. Reporting stories like this reflects my commitment to ensuring diverse experiences are heard and understood by our community.
For this story on holiday food donations addressing increased community demand, I focused on voices from diverse backgrounds who have limited access to nutritious food, including local families in East Palo Alto. By highlighting this community, the story not only informed readers about an important seasonal need but also ensured these members of our community were seen and heard.
Diverse Topics
In addition to conducting source diversity audits to track representation in our reporting, I have intentionally highlighted unique and underrepresented topics in the stories I’ve written for The Paly Voice. These stories demonstrate my commitment to not only quoting diverse sources, but also choosing topics that elevate stories and experiences that might otherwise go unnoticed, fostering a more inclusive and representative student press.
One example is my feature on our school's Responsive Inclusive Safe Environment (RISE) club’s efforts to educate the student body about consent, sexual assault prevention and healthy relationships. These topics can often be stigmatized and not discussed openly in a high school environment. This story amplified student voices working on crucial social issues and brought attention to a club centered on inclusivity and safety.
I worked on a story highlighting the newly relocated school wellness center. By reporting on a space that supports student mental health, counseling and self-care, this article helped to encourage more mental health conversations within the school community.
I wrote a feature spotlighting a teacher who achieved national recognition in a sport that celebrates individuality and nontraditional athletic paths. Although roller derby may not be widely covered in typical school reporting, this story shared a unique narrative that reflects the diversity of interests and identities within our community.
In addition to the diversity of our articles, our staff itself has diverse representation. On The Paly Voice, we have 12 girls and 7 boys, and when combined with Incubator, we have 22 girls and 17 boys. The Paly Voice’s and Incubator’s ethnic diversity is also prevalent, with no single dominant demographic. This staff diversity also helps us diversify our sources because of our unique social circles.
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