Pioneer’s Herrera named top student journalist
Celine Herrera was just 12 years old when someone asked her what she wanted to do with her life. She said she felt totally unsure, but there was one thing she knew she wanted: She wanted to write.
“Whether it was writing down the metaphors that couldn’t escape my mind or completely immersing myself into the essays my English teachers assigned me, I couldn’t deny the fact that words flowed through my veins,” says Celine, the Pioneer’s chief teen correspondent.
Words have stayed with Celine, and for that she was recently honored, not only as the 2016 Lesher Award recipient for Outstanding CC Spin Editor, but also the Contra Costa County Journalist of the Year.
In addition to her awards, Celine also received a $1,000 scholarship from the Lesher Foundation.
“Growing up, I was told that I didn’t have a voice,” she says. “People told me that what I had to say never mattered and that I was nothing but insignificant and worthless. There were times when I wanted to completely give up on myself. In the midst of it all, my inner voice told me to keep fighting, because if I don’t speak up now, who will?
“Somehow, within all of the nouns, verbs, and adjectives, I found my voice again and realized that I have a story to tell. When I became a journalist, I realized that not only do I have a voice, but also I could use it to help the people around me. For the rest of my life, I want to utilize it to be kind and to provide hope for the people I either come across in real life or just on paper.”
CC Spin is a collaborative effort of the Lesher Foundation, Bay Area News Group, the county Office of Education, and the California Scholastic Journalism Initiative to promote high school journalism in Contra Costa County. It is run by local journalists in the Bay Area. Their goal is to connect with Contra Costa County high schools and aid students with their high school’s journalism program, whether it’s providing them with resources, brainstorming story ideas, or helping them launch a publication for the very first time.
“Celine is one of the very best student editors I have worked with in the last eight years with CC Spin,” says one of CC Spin’s editors, Jim Finefrock. “She certainly can make the trains run on time, but what I’m most impressed with is her enthusiasm and passion for journalism. One of my colleagues said the other day, ‘We need to clone her.’ She richly deserves her award as county high school Journalist of the Year and shared award as the best student editor for CC Spin.”
Celine is also editor-in-chief of The Talon, the school newspaper at Clayton Valley Charter High School.
Celine will graduate in a few weeks, and next fall pursue a double-major in journalism (concentration in print and online journalism) and English, with a minor in women’s studies at San Francisco State University.