Chesterton High School junior Amelia Jimenez has been accepted into The School of The New York Times’ NYC Summer Academy for aspiring student journalists, a prestigious program that prepares its students for the vast and profound world of journalism. For a future journalist like Jimenez, there is no better place to find herself than in New York City this summer for the writing opportunity of a lifetime.
Jimenez discovered the NYC Summer Academy through extensive research, looking for the most distinguished education for young writers. With her heart set on journalism for most of her life, she strives to gain as much experience as possible. After considering other schools like Princeton and Georgetown, none presented courses as beneficial as The School of The New York Times. Utilizing her phenomenal writing skills, she explained this in her application, and combined with her impressive transcript, which consisted of good grades and the creation of her Elevated Bible Study club, Jimenez was accepted, a shoo-in for the Academy.
“I can’t actually process it,” says Jimenez about her thoughts on being accepted.
“I hear it, and I’m like ‘I don’t actually believe this.’”
For two weeks in June, Jimenez will be staying in a dorm in New York City, surrounded by some of the best and brightest students internationally, and the city’s bustling journalism scene. For a less eloquent individual, there would be no words to describe such a life-changing opportunity, but for a journalist-to-be, the excitement is shared vividly.
“I’m excited for the environment, I’m excited to be with other people who have this passion, who are gonna push me to be better, and who I strive to be like. To have teachers who have so much expertise and so much knowledge that they want to share with me. I’m just very excited.”
This passion that Jimenez speaks of has existed within her for much of her life. The profession that is journalism appeals to her for a variety of reasons, ranging from those as profound as having a medium to change the world, to as simple as her love for writing.
“I think it’s the only thing I was ever meant to be,” Jimenez admits.
“I like the truth. We live in a world that likes to distort factual truth, and I would like to be the source of the realness in the world: self-care, politics, [and] everyday living. I love that opinion goes into it, too. It’s raw, it’s vulnerable, it’s personal. It’s not just truth, it’s your truth. I can always appreciate that in writing, even if I don’t agree with other authors’ points of view. That’s why I love writing.”
No one could comprehend this high level of understanding better than the journalists at The School of The New York Times, who write for the column that has reportedly inspired Jimenez since she was young. Like she says, the truth is awfully skewed in this modern world, and the responsibility of a quality journalist is to spread factual, unbiased information to the masses that value honesty just as much, with the additional flavor of educated opinions. Having someone like Jimenez behind the scenes at a prominent newspaper like the New York Times would be more than reassuring. Thankfully, she is taking the first steps in her journalism career, and furthermore, in NYC, America’s paradise for writers.
Though not everyone is as talented – or half as zealous – as Jimenez, she represents an honorable population of people who seek the truth and exercise their responsibility to spread it. That being said, it comes as no surprise that she will be attending The School of The New York Times’ NYC Summer Academy this coming year. Her journalistic aspirations are on their way to being fulfilled, and CHS is beyond proud to be home to such an intelligent and proactive individual.
