Meet Our New Crew: YAJI Class of 2023

The Arts Paper newhavenarts.org

Welcome to the Youth Arts Journalism Class of 2023! We are so excited to have 11 of America’s future journalists learning with us this week. For a first writing exercise, all 11 of them split into groups to learn to write short bios of each other. Read on to meet these young people, and please greet them with open arms if you run into them on assignment!

Jordan Cagle is a 16-year-old junior at Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven. As the third oldest of four daughters, Jordan enjoys dabbling in fashion and makeup in her free time. She currently takes classes in business and marketing at her high school, but plans to study premed or biology at Howard University in pursuit of a nursing-related career.

Jordan finds in journalism the opportunity to reach new audiences and change biases and beliefs. After learning about the program through her journalism teacher, Stephen Staysniak, she applied to tell the stories of Black businesses and nonprofits that are making change in New Haven and Hamden,

Now that she’s a part of YAJI, Jordan wants to write uplifting and positive stories that revolve around the movements, businesses, and happenings of groups led by people of color, and particularly Black people, in New Haven.

Nevaeh Lugo

Kristine Figueroa is a 16-year-old junior currently attending Metropolitan Business Academy. After being a wallflower for the majority of her middle school years, Figueroa started coming out of her shell as a promise to herself to change for the better. She is constantly making new friends and doesn’t shy away from anyone anymore.

This aspiring artist has been doing visual arts for as long as she can remember. Since the third grade she has been using a pencil and paper to bring her creativity out to the world. Figueroa knows that art will be with her for many years to come.

“My biggest passion is art. All I know is that in my future I want to do something that connects with art. Whether it be with graphic design or journalism like this would be cool,” she said.

Kristine recently joined the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative or YAJI to help develop her understanding of New Haven.

“I want to try and learn more about my community and the communities that surround me,” she said.

Kristine wants to shed light on the developing climate crisis and how it will affect the New Haven community. She fears the rising sea levels will raise many problems for Connecticut’s coastal areas, she said. At Metro, she has worked on a documentary bringing the issue to light.

“I think that if more people knew about this and we showed how important this is- sue is we can prevent these things from happening.”

Kiomi Rincon

Fourteen-year-old Dontae James is a freshman at Wilbur Cross High School and the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), where he is working to improve his skills as a saxophone player. Born and raised in New Haven, Dontae attended Francis Walsh Intermediate Middle School before stepping into ninth grade at Cross and ECA this year.

As a student in the 2023 Youth Arts Journalism Initiative (YAJI), Dontae is interested in improving his writing skills and gaining a better understanding of New Haven. His first assignment is close to his heart: he is interested in learning more about the artist and sax player Wayne Escoffery. “It’s nice, not going to lie, compared to other cities,” he said of New Haven. “There are times when it can be bad but not all the time.”

Dontae has a deep passion for music and has been playing the saxophone since middle school. In the future, he wants to do something with music, and is interested in trying out conducting.

Belén Meneses

Juliette Lao is a 17-year-old senior at New Haven Academy. While an early interest in the kryptonian superhero Supergirl led her to journalism, she has also developed a love for education. In college, she plans to create a K-12 curriculum around mental health and well- ness in schools, meant to help students get through college and navigate stressful situations. She is currently considering the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her college studies. She views the world as “all over the place,” but looks for the good, she said. Last year, Juliette first took interest in YAJI while trying to work on her writing skills and learn something new as a New Haven Academy intern with the Arts Paper. It is one of her many interests, including animation and visual arts, reading (she recommends the book True Biz), retro styles, grilled cheese, and American Sign Language or ASL. her mom cook, and playing her flute. She also enjoys deep cleaning when bored. Her love of music is especially vast. Belén enjoys a variety of genres including jazz, classical, and Latin-influenced styles like Mariachi, Cumbia, and Bachata. For Belén YAJI is a new experience, and she’s all for it.

Dontae James

Seventeen-year-old Alanis Morales wants to become New Haven’s next big true crime journalist—and is building the chops to do it. A junior at James Hillhouse High School and student in the Youth Arts Journalism Intensive, she has been gaining a variety of writing skills to achieve her goals.

Since watching movies like Men in Black and The Conjuring, Alanis has been interested in conspiracy theories and horror-related content. “It started off with kids tales like Bloody Mary, then horror legends, and eventually turned into what I’m interested in now,” she said.

This passion for untangling crime theories combined with a desire to develop her writing skills, led Morales to apply to YAJI. Morales aims to find out the different true crime and unsolved mysteries of New Haven and open up discussions about them. She believes that YAJI will give her the ability to open up new paths of opportunity for her future.

Kiomi Rincon

Nevaeh Lugo is a senior at West Haven high school. She enjoys creative writing and poetry, and plans to pursue a career in journalism at the University Of New Haven or a university in New York City. Her interest in journalism started in her sophomore year, when she started taking a journalism class in search of an enjoyable career path.

This year, she joined YAJI in hopes to gain experience and improve her writing skills. As a student in the program, she hopes to cover inspirational stories, talented students, school safety, and gender and sexuality.

After high school, she hopes to travel to the “hidden gems” of the world.

Maria Teniza

Fifteen-year-old Belén Meneses aspires to improve her understanding of her city and its citizens through YAJI. “I want to improve my writing skills,” said Belén, a student at the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative and a sophomore at Hill Regional Career High School.

Born and raised in New Haven, Belén now attends Hill Regional Career High School, and is a flutist in the Yale All City Wind Ensemble. Belén enjoys spending her free time listening to music, helping

When she’s not writing, she enjoys her school’s gender and sexuality club, which she joined “because it is close to home for me,” she said. She comes from a home with two moms, and considers herself a proud part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Jordan Cagle

Laila Mohammed, a student at Hill Regional Career High School in New Haven, is rounding off her senior year with everything from robots to bracelet-selling. The 17-year-old participates in her school’s robotics club, helping to create bots that accurately shoot objects into hoops. She also tends the school garden as part of Career’s environmental club. And although