Over the years, Pines Charter has been recognized just from hearing about its newspaper — the CHAT. From their outstanding awards to the notable staff each year, the CHAT has been fortunate enough to gain a large and supportive fan base.
Since the class can only have a select number of students, the newspaper decided it would be beneficial to have a club that allows more students to express their passion for journalism. The Journalism Honor Society (JHS) hopes to do just this, and will soon be brought to life during this upcoming school year.
JHS is focused on training future journalists in producing publications and supporting the local community by donating materials to further promote journalism. In order to make this year a success, JHS has selected a handful of student journalists who will lead these students to create impactful stories.
President- Janeyliz Baez
In eighth grade, club president Janeyliz Baez noticed a journalism class was offered on her course card, and immediately knew it was the class for her. After years worth of experience, she started to keep track of her many tips and tricks to one day share with other people. As journalism quickly became her escape from reality, Baez knew that she wanted to find a way to share her passion for this field. With growing determination, she was able to finally reestablish JHS at Charter.
“There are many stories around us that happen every day, and our goal is to be able to give [a] voice to those who don’t have one,” Baez expresses. Along with the rest of the board, Baez hopes that her members will be able to grow their writing and reporting abilities.
Vice President- Erioluwa Fatimilehin
Erioluwa Fatimilehin shares a similar passion for the newspaper field. She finds it important for students in this field to express their own voices and perspectives. “Journalism is about having the freedom to write what you want to write about,” she said. Working so closely with Baez, Fatimilehin has also experienced some challenges when creating the baseline for the club. “We had many qualified people apply for a position, but we could only pick three of them,” she reveals. After many discussions with their club sponsor, Mr. Fagen, the two leaders made the decision to pick Lian Lee, Lizbeth Manoj, and Jocelyn Roldan as part of their team.
Secretary- Lizbeth Manoj
Being a part of the CHAT for the past year has shown Manoj what it takes to be an editor and the amount of control a writer gets on their topics. As News editor for the 2024-2025 school year, Manoj has prioritized how relevant and truthful her stories are. “We want to motivate members to dig deeper into issues that affect our school and community, and learn how to accurately report on them,” she explains. This will allow students to get out of their comfort zone and improve their journalistic skills.
Manoj also hopes that in the coming weeks, the club’s message reaches a wide audience of students at Charter that would like to get involved in the journalism field. “I hope we can inspire more people to contribute their voices to the community.”
Treasurer- Jocelyn Roldan
Roldan’s passion for writing was reignited during the Covid pandemic, and explains that it was a “therapeutic escape” for her. Her experience writing for the CHAT not only connected her to other student journalists, but also significantly improved her writing skills. Inspired by the support she received from her fellow classmates, she now aims to give back by making JHS meetings and events more engaging.
“A little can go a long way,” she emphasizes, planning to use funds for small gestures in order to create a welcoming environment for JHS members. By doing so, she hopes to attract more members and allow the club to thrive.
Historian- Lian Lee
Lee’s job as historian has opened up new opportunities for her, exposing her to both journalistic writing and graphic design. From creating memorable collages to flyers for the next meeting, Lee creates “visually appealing materials that capture the essence of [the] club and pique the interest of students.”
Understanding a student’s emotional connection to a story is most important, as it provides a new perspective for the board members, but also other readers. Lee often describes journalism as a very vibrant world, and is “thrilled at the thought of being able to apply those skills to showcase the world of journalism.”
As the club begins to host meetings and workshops, JHS is excited to welcome PPCHS students to the exciting world of journalism.
