Lyndsey Pender, Overton High School, Memphis, Tennesse

Yazmin Martinez

Yazmin Martinez, a 16-yr-old Louisville native isn’t your average teenager. Martinez is a self-motivated vegetarian; a lifestyle she takes seriously.  “ I became a vegetarian because of animal rights, though the first few weeks were hard.”  Martinez says.

Being a vegetarian is not were the eccentricities end. Martinez has a love for fashion, while still maintaining her individualism.  “I don’t wear jeans. I wear leggings.”

Martinez is a teenager who never leaves home without one thing: her camera. “I like drawing the most, and I go take pictures. I really love art.”

Martinez first got a taste of photography thanks to her dad. She admits that he is her inspiration, and he also provided her with her first point and shoot camera. Martinez says her father gives her tools and skills she appreciates. “ My role model is my dad.”

Some of the information Martinez knows about her camera was self-taught.  Seth Fischer, one of Martinez’ fellow high school students, and also a fellow Xposure Workshop Journalist, was also able to lend information. “Seth helped me a lot.”

Her first pictures were of people for her dad’s film business.  Now Martinez shoots with her two cameras. One is a Nikon D60, and the other a Nikon D90.

Martinez’ photography subjects have changed. Now she photographs red roses, snowy days, and her German Shepherd Osito. “Osito means little bear,” Martinez says.

If she is not drawing, or photographing, Martinez is designing. “I love photoshop,” Martinez says of the Mac designing program.

Martinez plans on attending college after high school, and lists Western Kentucky as one of her options. She plans on majoring in commercial photography, photojournalism, or graphic design.

Martinez plans on traveling to Cataluña, Spain. “The name sounds really unique, she says. Martinez also plans on traveling to Poland and visiting some of the Holocaust Concentration Camps. “Even though it was really tragic, it should never be forgotten.”

Alexis Taylor Profile

By LEAH KELLY, Barret Middle School, Louisville, Ky

Alexis Taylor

Sixteen-year-old Alexis Taylor describes herself as modern-day philosopher, controversial thinker, upcoming novelist and unique personality.

Taylor, who will be a senior at Tates Creek High School in Lexington, said she is a deep and cautious thinker, often giving the impression that she is quiet.

Taylor said she prefers to think before she speaks or acts, which can be a good thing, but it can be a setback because many people’s first impressions are that she is shy. When she is out of the spotlight and with a small group of friends, the shy, quiet girl can quickly become a chatterbox.

Taylor is also an aspiring novelist. She said she was working on a novel for about a year but decided to stop writing the criminal drama.

“I didn’t know enough about the topic,” she said, “and your lack of knowledge about the topic or situation shows in your writing.”

She now is working on a new novel titled “And They Were Rebels,” which is a medieval fantasy. She chose that topic because “fantasies can be your own.”

She said she has a sarcastic sense of humor and explained that when people understand what she is talking about, they find her sarcasm comedic. She described it as “dark humor.”

Taylor also considers herself controversial because she “likes to make people think.” She said people should not be so quick to judge some things.

If people think about things, everything is not what it seems, she said.

Taylor described herself as a modern-day philosopher. She said she likes to “pin-point problems” and explore the inner self, using writing.

“I use a lot of subtext, subliminal messaging in writing,” she said. “If you talk about something in an indirect way, you will get to the root of what I’m saying.”

She is interested in history because it is “a unique way of entering the setting into the writing.”

Taylor also is interested in computers and technology.

“I find computers amazing because there is so much knowledge to gain from them.”

Taylor’s other interests include sci-fi, criminology, law, computer hackers and playing guitar.

She summed herself up in three words: “I’m just me.”

Jennifer Otterbach Profile

By JACKIE RODRIQUEZ, Glencliff High School, Nashville, Tennesse

Jennifer Otterbach’s face is decorated with countless freckles and bordered with light laugh lines suggesting an easygoing personality.

Her crystal blue eyes give depth to the passion in her words and her actions; a passion which lies in the art of journalism.

“My main goal in life is to write something that will change someone’s life,” she says.

She has begun to accomplish this goal by joining the newspaper staff at South Oldham High School in Crestwood.

Journalism is her passion, she said, but being an avid Girl Scout is what helps her take time for herself.

Ottersbach particularly enjoys being a sailor for the Girls Scouts.

“I like the fact that there always have been and there always will be wind and water,” Ottersbach said about sailing. ”So it kind of connects me to the world.” Ottersbach, otherwise known as Jen or “Mouse” by her friends, has a multi-cultural background including some German, Cherokee and Swiss.

“I’m just a big mess of cultures,” Ottersbach said jokingly.

Though her family tree includes many nationalities, the mixture of cultures does not quench Ottersbach’s thirst for knowledge. Since kindergarten, she has been learning Spanish.

“I feel like when I master the language, it will be an accomplishment because I’ve been working so long on it,” Ottersbach said.

Being the eldest of four children, Ottersbach has to act as a role model for her siblings.

“I feel like I do have to set an example. Like my sister always tells me ‘I wanna be just like you,’” she said. “Since I don’t have any older siblings, I find older friends I have, who I know have more experience, and ask them for advice.”

Her face lights up when speaking about her hometown friends.

“Me and my friends are planning this imaginary road trip,” she said enthusiastically.  Her best friend, Catherine Erwin’s nickname, Kitty, is a paradox to her own nickname, Mouse.

“She is my partner in crime,” Ottersbach said.

Ottersbach draws her inspiration from her emotions.

“If I feel something good, I want other people to feel that, too.”

Ottersbach admits her motivation is primarily drawn from within, yet she doesn’t ignore the advice her parents give her.

“I wanna be the best I can be at it,” Ottersbach said about journalism. “My dad always told me he didn’t care if I wanted to be a garbage man, he wanted me to be the best garbage man I could be.”

As a prospective Western Kentucky University student, Ottersbach plans on majoring in news editorial journalism and double majoring in Spanish.

“I really want to be successful in my career,” she said. “I’ve always been really driven for those kinds of things.”

She hopes to eventually start a family and be successful.

Ottersbach’s dedication to her future career is what makes her put her heart into her work and enroll in programs such as the Xposure workshop.

“If you really want something, you have to work for it.”

Profile

Kamilah Champion, Bosse High School Evansville, IND.

Kamilah Champion

 

Kamilah Champion is willing to put in the time and effort to succeed.

“Nothing comes easy,” she said. “The things you work for are worth the wait. In the end, it pays off.”

Champion, an 18-year-old graduate of Bosse High School in Evansville, Ind., will begin her college career at Western Kentucky University in the fall. And if things work according to plan, her payoff will be a career in broadcast journalism.

So far, her road to college has been marked by positive experiences from her family, her friends and her faith. She wears a black wristband that reads “I am second,” a reference to her place behind God. And she surrounds herself with the people who are important in her life.

“I love being around the people that care the most about me, regardless if it’s family or friends, just the people that genuinely mean the most to me,” she said.

One family member who stands out is Bertha Purcell, Champion’s grandma and a woman whose fight with cancer proved to be inspirational.

“I look up to my grandma a lot,” Champion said. “She had cancer. I was younger, but I think that was a lot to see.”

Purcell died in 2008, but she lives on in Champion’s memory as a woman who took on the cancer without complaint, a person who had a purpose for her life.

“I believe you have to have heart in everything you do,” she said. “You have to have heart, and you have to have passion.”

Champion said she looks forward to having a family of her own one day, and she plans on helping her children have the things they need to thrive. But she plans on helping other children, too.

“One thing I always say is ‘I want to change the world,’” she said, adding that she would like to be able to help children in need of comfort and attention.

Like many teenagers, Champion lives with an eye toward her future – a future of family and career – but she said she values the present by trying to “live life in the moment.” And she appreciates a past that has included a strong family structure.

“Everything I have went through has made me who I am,” she said. “If you change one thing, you change everything. Every failure, every success, it all fell into place for a reason.”

Ultimately, Champion said she is counting on her past and her present to determine her future. And, of course, her family name has a role to play, too.

“Our family quote is ‘There’s nothing a Champion can’t do.’ That’s what I live by.”

Jackie Rodriguez Profile

Jackie Rodriguez

 

By JENNIFER OTTERSBACH, South Oldham High School, Crestwood

Jackie Rodriguez, 17, an upcoming senior at Glencliff High School in Nashville, Tenn., is all about finding her “voice,” and she loves giving back.

When Rodriquez was in seventh grade, she joined an organization called International Outreach Team Program. ITOP is a community service organization designed to reach minorities. Rodriguez, who is Mexican-American, said the program was a “source of motivation” for them.

“A lot of us didn’t like it, but I did,” she said.

Through ITOP, Rodriguez has taken part in many service projects, such as volunteering at a Ronald McDonald House, cleaning up after an Easter egg hunt at the National Zoo, reading to children, and more. She also is a part of the National Honor Society and Beta Club at her school.

“Knowing that I can contribute to my community and give back is rewarding to me,” she said.

Rodriguez sees giving back as a part of her future as well. She enjoys writing and photography and is thinking about pursuing a career in photojournalism.

“I want to be a journalist that travels the world and goes to dangerous places,” she said.

Rodriguez said she is big on owning up to her mistakes, being independent, and taking responsibility. She calls it finding her voice.

“Not only the obvious voice,” she said, “but a path.”

Family is also important to Rodriguez, who comes from a family of five that includes her dad, Blas, mom, Griselda, and two older sisters, Izamar and Grecia.     Because her family is from Mexico, Rodriguez and her family often visit Mexico in the summer. Last summer she celebrated her quinceañera, her 15^th birthday celebration, there with her family.

Rodriguez said she and her sisters made the trip alone, and they enjoyed it. They got to prove how responsible they were.

“We got to have fun and make mistakes,” she said. “But that’s what being young is about. You’re only going to be young once.”

Since family is so important to Rodriguez, she hopes she can give back to them later in her life.

“Whenever I start working – put some money aside for my parents. I want to buy them a big house where they don’t have to worry about anything,” she said. “I want my dad to retire because he’s been working since he was 12.”

Rodriguez said she admires her father because he has done so much for her family. She would love to take him to all of his favorite places in the world that he’s never gotten a chance to visit.

“Really for my dad, I want to send them on a trip,” Rodriguez said. “All the really important places of the world like Jerusalem, Rome – historical places – because he’s really big on history and I’d like to do that for him.”

By BEVERLY FISHBACK, Bowling Green High School, Bowling Green, KY

Diamond Stewart

 

She may not be something that sits on your finger or something you wear in your ear. But she is Diamond Stewart, an everyday 16-year-old girl.

She sports Nikes on her feet and wears her braids to the side. She has also endured a six-hour trip from Atlanta to Bowling Green.

The high school junior came to Western Kentucky University to experience the Xposure Journalism Workshop. She learned about Xposure through school.

“I basically went to my college career program,” she said. “I like doing journalism, and I found out it was free.”

Throughout the program Stewart said she wants to overcome her fear of constructive criticism.

“It hurts my feelings when someone tells me my work is bad,” she said.

The teenager said she usually breaks down because she puts her heart into her writing. Although she is fearful of critiques, Stewart said she wants to pursue journalism, as well as photojournalism.

“I started taking pictures at a young age,” she said, explaining that her outgoing personality allows her to love photography.

Along with taking photos, Stewart likes to draw. She said, “I like to express myself through my drawings as well.”

This multi-talented teen also sweats red and white as a center on the Henry W. Grady High Lady Knights basketball team where she became interested in basketball because “I just wanted something to do.”

But her basketball life hasn’t been all cake and cookies. “I have a knee problem,” she said. “I had surgery on my knee.”

Actually, Stewart has had five surgeries on her left knee, causing her to wear a knee brace during practice and games. “It (brace) made me reach my potential goal of running.”

She has come a long way since her first surgery in middle school and having to wear a knee brace. “I have overcome my struggles,” she said.

Since then, she played junior varsity basketball her freshman year and half of her sophomore year.  Stewart even ended up on the varsity basketball team for the remainder of her sophomore year.

In addition to journalism and basketball, Stewart also loves to swim and play with her eight fish and a turtle named Speedy. She described herself as more than just a story or a game.

“I am beautiful, smart and open-minded,” she said. “I am beautiful in my own way.”

To Stewart, looks don’t mean everything. She goes beyond facial features in judging people. She also said she gets good grades but admits she has to work hard for them.

Whether describing herself as a people person, bubbly or passionate, she loves to talk and wants people to know that she is the most outgoing person they will ever meet.

“I am an awesome person and cool all around.”

 

By HEIDI C. KIMMICH, St. Henry District High School, Erlanger, Ky.

Tim Nwachukwu

 

Seventeen-year-old Tim Nwachukwu (wah-CHOO-koo) has a dream and is ready to show the world who he is, and what he has to offer.

All dreams start somewhere and with someone. For Nwachukwu, that someone was Walter Cronkite.

“Walter was such an inspiration being the best in Americans’ minds. He wasn’t biased, and he gave people the truth,” Nwachukwu said. He saw Cronkite as an older, grandfather figure. “Cronkite’s persona just reminded me of my grandpas.”

Because of Cronkite’s influence, Nwachukwu said he has an interest in a journalism profession. Growing up in Louisville and attending duPont Manual High, he actually took a closer interest in computers.

“I was and still am a computer nerd,” Nwachukwu said. “When I was younger I was really insecure about that because I thought people would make fun of me, but I learned to deal with it with age.”

As love of computers grew in the youngest of three siblings, so did his curiosity into the lives of his older brother and sister.

“I liked listening to my sister on the phone, and I learned all the plays of my brother’s football team,” he said.

Though he liked investigation, he said he didn’t have as much of a passion for writing as he did for talking. As his passions developed, he found other people who shared these passions with him.

He said that Charley Nold, a classmate and a former Xposure student, was a great asset to him.

“Charley was like another brother to me,” he said, explaining that he and Nold collaborated on ideas and edited pieces together.

As Nwachukwu became more familiar with journalism, his close friend and classmate Seth Fischer drew him into photojournalism. He said Fischer has been an inspiration.

“He doesn’t rely on the his tools, but more on his sight and intellect when taking a picture.”

After school, Nwachukwu said, he often grabs his camera and takes off to photograph what he calls this “beautiful country.”  Only recently did he realize his hobby could become a career.

With this passion for journalism, he said he loves getting the facts out there for people to read. He enjoys the freedom to express himself, and he understands that journalism provides many options for that expression. He also enjoys reading stories that are unbiased.

Despite this desire for balance, he also likes to read opinion columns.

“I enjoy the editorials because you don’t have to agree with the writer, but it is still good reading,” he said.

Journalism is close to his heart, so it is a disappointment to him when writers show negativity.

“Their negative emotions have a tendency to make the paper look bad,” he said.

As he grows up and is at a good point in his high school journalism career, he advises up-and-coming journalists to find more experienced people to aid in writing, to have a good supportive family and group of friends, and to never turn down extra information.

Nwachukwu sees life as journey.

“Life is a journey, not a race,” he said. “The difference is, if you sit down during a race, you’ll never get back up. But in a journey you just keep going.”

On his journey, Nwachukwu said would like to incorporate his love for computers and journalism.

“I cannot turn my back on either of my passions. Both computers and journalism are part of who I am,” he said. Nwachukwu wants to let the journey of life take him where it can, and enjoy it.

“It will be what I make of it.”

 

Beverly Fishback Profile

Beverly Fishback

By DIAMOND STEWART       Grady High School, Atlanta

This headband-wearing, 16-year-old tends to get involved in a school activity after someone tells her she would be good at it.

Beverly Fishback, a senior at Bowling Green High School, was not really into journalism but her teacher had been trying to get her to attend the Xposure Journalism Workshop for two years. Finally, she decided to apply after she joined her high school newspaper staff.

“I read (about) it on a poster at school and through my (journalism) teacher,” Fishback said.

“I thought that I was decent at writing and other people can see me being a journalist,” Fishback said, explaining that she wants to inspire others and get into something new and different.

In her off time from writing, she is like a typical teenager but with a twist. Fishback said she likes to listen to music; hang out with family and friends; do scrapbooking; play with her cat, Sasha; and just have lot of fun.

In addition to the newspaper, she is active in the French Club, Beta Club, and student government. She is president of the Future Educators of America.

“It is exciting to lead people and guide them,” Fishback said.

When she attends college she plans on having a major in psychology and a minor or another major in journalism. Fishback said she is particularly interested in studying the psychology of addiction and how it affects people’s lives.

Fishback said she is looking forward to college.

“I can’t wait to live in a dorm room and meet different varieties of people. It’s just a different environment. “

She has had her driver’s license for about four months and she owns a Mercedes.  “Overwhelmed. I thought my first car would be crappy,” Fishback said.

Using three words to describe herself, Fishback said, “ I am beautiful, confident and stylish.”

“I don’t let others lead me into one image of who I am supposed to be,” Fishback said about her self-image. “I am just being me.”

She said her confidence comes from her desire to be a leader.

“I lead myself and don’t follow others,” she said.

And her style comes from her willingness to try new things while staying simple and comfortable. That’s why she likes headbands.

“I don’t like trends,” Fishback said. “I don’t like that mix-match style, shoes and sandals. I like to be comfortable.”

By TIM NWACHUKWU, duPont Manual High School, Louisville, Ky.

Heidi Kimmich

Heidi Kimmich doesn’t mind a good challenge or two.

After all, the 14-year-old St. Henry District High School sophomore from Erlanger, has a good support system to aid her with her never-give-up attitude.

Some of that support has come from two of her favorite teachers, Martha Schmeing and Jennah Lalley, she said.

“She (Schmeing) always told us to be the best that we could be, and that you’ll get wherever you want to go,” Kimmich said. “She helped me come out of my shell, and she was really friendly. If I needed any help, I could go to her.”

Not only did Schmeing teach Kimmich, but she taught her older sister, Hannah, and her mother’s siblings as well.

Lalley, Kimmich’s high school English teacher, urged the teen to become more active in school.

“As a new freshman, she was there for everyone, “ Kimmich said. “She encouraged me to open up. She’s the one that encouraged me to go to Xposure.”

For Kimmich, there’s never a day off when it comes to working hard.

“You have to keep going on because it’s all going to help in the long run,” she said.

Even when she feels like quitting, she said she relies on her faith and loved ones to pull her through.

“When things get hard, I turn to prayer — God — and to the support of loved ones,” Kimmich said. “I surround myself around people who believe in me and have the confidence that I can do whatever I want.

“If I give up, I will never get to where I want to be and I will give up on other things because it’s the easy way out.”

Kimmich is heavily involved at her school. With a slight push from friends, she even became the secretary of her high school’s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions as a freshman.

“When I was going to be secretary for SADD, I didn’t think I could do it,” she said. “My friend got behind me and said I could do it and that I was smart.”

Even though she wasn’t re-elected for a second term, she decided to remain in the club. “I decided to stay because I really enjoy the club and what it stands for.”

SADD urges students not to drink and drive through a variety of themed activities like Arrive Alive, aimed at prom and graduation. “We encourage kids not to do drugs and not to drink alcohol.

“We dressed students up and put them in crashed cars, and made it look like they had crashed – and (pretended) one (student) died to share the effects of drunk driving,” she said.

“Students cried,” she said of the impact of Arrive Alive.

Kimmich also is active in Christians In Action, where students plan the school’s prayer services, masses and retreats.

As a member of the St. Maria Goretti Society, a chastity club at school, members discuss purity and “romance without regrets” – their theme for last school year. Members pledge to abstain from sex until married.

“Purity was something that my mom taught me at an early age,” she said. “I just thought it would be a good idea to be around people who set that example at the school. It’s easier to face the persecution of being pure together than it is alone because people make fun and mock us.”

As a member of Crusaders for Life, an organization opposed to abortion and the death penalty, Kimmich attends talks about abortion and the death penalty. “You have to go to so many rallies and events that promote life,” Kimmich said.

After participating in a required number of activities, the teen was rewarded with a trip to Washington, D.C., and attended the annual March for Life in January.

March for Life attracted approximately 400,000 anti-abortion activists who marched from the Supreme Court building to the U.S. Capitol.

“The rally was moving,” Kimmich said. “There are so many people who speak against it and the government doesn’t really care.

“I’m against abortion because it’s against my faith, and I don’t think it’s right,” she said. “I was always taught it was wrong. It’s not even a question in my mind.”

Kimmich’s penchant for making a difference even carries over to her future career choice. She wants to work with special needs children.

“When they are kids, they still don’t know they are different,” she said. “They are the happiest little kids. I feel like it’s going to be difficult along the way, but in the end it’s going to be all worth it.”

By YAZMIN MARTINEZ, duPont Manual High School, Louisville, Ky.

 

 

Lyndsey Pender

“It’s a weird story,” said Lyndsey Pender of how she stumbled on photojournalism.

The Overton High School graduate from Memphis, Tenn., and an incoming freshman at Western Kentucky University wasn’t sure what she wanted as a career.

That  “weird” story started when Pender was considering getting a nose septum piercing.

While looking at Google images of piercings, Pender came across photos by Kendrick Brinson, a photojournalist whose images Pender described as being “so real,” like nothing she had ever seen before. The images weren’t typical travel photos of Paris or London.

“They looked like they could be in my backyard,” Pender said.

Brinson’s inspirational photographs were not only real, Pender said, but they were also relatable. As a result, photojournalism became Pender’s career goal.

“Photojournalism in general shouldn’t feel out of reach, it’s about the people,” she said.

Even though Pender admitted she doesn’t know much about photography, she said she has the motivation and drive to learn.

She recently attended the WKU Xposure Journalism workshop in Bowling, Green. The workshop is intended to help students with interests in news writing, photography and editing.

“I call myself a writer, yet I have so much to learn,” she said.

When in high school, Pender worked for the student newspaper.

“It wasn’t serious,” she said, adding that not a lot of her peers took it seriously.

Pender wrote a story that was published in the local newspaper called Teen Appeal. However, now that she thinks about it, she said, she thinks she didn’t write it journalistically correct.

”It’s weird seeing all the stuff I didn’t know,” she said.

Pender said she wants to continue in journalism, and she plans to work for a newspaper or do freelance photography.

She isn’t sure what to expect from college. “I just want to be content and be able to stay focused,” said Pender, who admitted to being easily distracted.

“I like being by myself a lot,” Pender said. “I love learning about the world and traveling. I hardly ever get on the phone.”

Pender prefers to describe herself as quirky and independent, and said she is a quiet person but would like to be more outgoing.

“If you want to succeed in this job, you have to be able to take risks,” she said, adding that she has to “get out of my shell” and be able to  “get out there.”

“I would love to report something . . . I didn’t know you could travel so much.”

Pender said she would like to live in cities such as Chicago, Savannah or New Orleans.

“They are beautiful, so many different cultures and people.”