Chalkbeat is thrilled to announce our new Student Voices Fellowship class. During the 2024-25 academic year, we’re welcoming high school students from New York City and, for the first time, from Detroit. The fellows, whose impressive bios are below, will participate in journalism and writing workshops and share their original essays on Chalkbeat. Be sure to look out for their bylines in the coming months.
Fall Fellows
Bryan Campbell, Detroit
Bryan Campbell (he/him/his) is a junior at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. He is a founder and secretary of his school’s Black Student Union, a board member of Cass Tech’s Future Changemakers of America club, and a conservation intern with the Detroit Zoological Society. Over the summer, Bryan studied Blackness, oppression, and race at the Telluride Association Summer Seminar in Maryland. In his free time, Bryan enjoys playing guitar and writing about politics through an intersectional lens.
Ocean Lin, New York City
Ocean (he/him/his) is a junior at Staten Island Technical High School. He lived in Fujian, China, for five years before moving to Brooklyn. In school, he is the co-president of the handwriting club and an editor of the student newspaper, The Tech Times. Outside of school, he volunteers for RBH, a non-profit organization that supports immigrant students. Ocean also started the Instagram poetry account Tide Tales to give marginalized groups, such as LGBT Asian Americans, a platform for creative self-expression. He wants to pursue a career in chemistry and make a difference in the world. At Chalkbeat, he hopes to share authentic stories despite living in a society that expects conformity.
Awa Sangare, New York City
Awa (she/her) is a junior at Columbia Secondary School in Manhattan. She is passionate about writing and her school’s debate club. In her free time, she enjoys learning about other cultures and watching movies, her favorite being “The Princess Diaries.” In the future, Awa aspires to make a positive impact on the world through her work. At Chalkbeat, she hopes to improve her writing and wants others to learn from her experiences.
Spring Fellows
Charisma Holly, Detroit
Charisma is a senior at the Detroit Edison Public School Academy High School. She is a spoken word artist, public speaker, and advocate for after-school programs. Charisma was an opening speaker, alongside Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, during the Uniroyal Promenade Grand Opening in 2023. In addition, she performed an original spoken word poem, entitled “Outreach,” at Michigan’s 2024 Afterschool Day at the state capitol. Charisma also spends her time working in theater design and tech, volunteering with academic and holistic enrichment programs for students, and advocating for funding for art programs. Charisma writes to inspire, share her voice, and make a difference in the world around her.
Anika Merkin, New York City
Anika (she/her/hers) is a junior at Brooklyn Prospect High School. She is passionate about issues that impact young women, such as mental health, reproductive rights, and menstrual equity. She is a founding member of a youth group that trained teens to advocate for menstrual equity. Anika participated in a leadership program at a sleepaway camp in the Adirondacks for two summers, and this past summer was selected to join The Moth Story Lab, a storytelling workshop for high school students. In her free time, she enjoys designing and creating pottery, watching and analyzing films, and spending time with friends and her cat, Lily. Inspired by her own experience with school refusal, Anika wants to shed light on the challenges teens struggling with anxiety and OCD face.
Ginger Roger Ceballos, New York City
Ginger (she/her) is a junior at Manhattan Early College for Advertising. During high school, she is eager to find her “spark” and explore different opportunities. She embraces the principle that “rejection is redirection,” which has helped her navigate the ups and downs of her teenage years. Growing up in New York City has fueled her desire to travel around the world and meet people from different cultures. She spent this past summer working at Clarify News, the youth journalism program of City Limits, where she wrote about some of the struggles that New Yorkers face. Ginger can’t wait to see what the future holds. Still, she loves to live in the moment — and hopes her writing and photography will motivate others to do the same.
More information on Chalkbeat’s Student Voices Fellowship program is available here. You can read the work of our past fellows here.