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Webb Canyon Chronicle

The Student News Site of The Webb Schools

Webb Canyon Chronicle

The Student News Site of The Webb Schools

Webb Canyon Chronicle

Josie Chow (‘22) wins Gold Key at the Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Contest

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Josie Chow
Josie Chow (‘22) stands holding her Gold Key award.

Inspired by her time at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), Josie Chow (‘22) decided to write a poemChingchangchong on the racism that Asian Americans face today. After submitting her work for the Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, she was awarded the Gold Key, and will be advancing to the national competition.  

“I participated in SDLC and through talking a lot about diversity I guess it made me realize at first a lot about me,” Josie said. I was thinking I was going to learn about other people, but it really opened my eyes. They put you in the same [affinity] group. I was put into the Asian American group. I was learning a lot of information from other people about how the problems I am facing are not just a me problem, but other people are facing them as well.”  

Recently, with the rise of K-pop and beauty trends like the “fox eye,” Asian Americans have been pointing out that things they were once mocked for are now being fetishized.  

“I feel like more recently, I have noticed recently that people are focusing on trends that are a little bit racist,” Josie said. With Asian Americans people romanticize Asian culture without people realizing the context. 

Josie played with this theme through her poem.  

[In my poem,I was trying to juxtapose between the past and the present about how like at one time people might bully you for doing something and then at another time they will be doing the same actions as a trend,” Josie said. I wanted to compare between the two. I tried to make it rhyme a little bit because I like rhyming poems.  

After SDLC, Josie started writing her poems and submitting them to the Scholastic awards in December 2020. Josie’s poem “Ching, changchong” won, and her other poem received honorable mention.  

I feel like I want to put my voice out [there], Josie said. hadn’t really done anything to share my voice with the community and I thought what better way than to write a poem, which I had wanted to do for a while. That idea that I should share my voice really came through during the [SDLC] conference. The SDLC conference made me want to share who I am. I know I didn’t share my personal background, but the poem is all moments of time that I have experienced.  

Josie will be moving on to the National Scholastic Art and Writing Contest, where she has the opportunity to win a medal, and have her work displayed in The Best Teen Writing by The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.      

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About the Contributors
Laura Haushalter, Public Editor
Enthusiastic, positive, determined, and athletic, Laura Haushalter (‘21) uses her passionate attitude to take on many leadership roles: captain of the VWS cross-country and swimming teams; Student Government spirit commissioner; and the Public Editor for the WCC. As the Public Editor, Laura oversees all the social media accounts for the WCC. In addition to normal Editor-in-Chief  responsibilities, she helps the WCC gain more publicity, making sure Webbies stay informed and updated about the latest articles. Laura is extremely passionate about environmental justice and climate change, which is why her favorite class she has taken at Webb is Honors Global Society and Sustainability. In her free time, you can catch Laura watching Friends or Veep, listening to AJR, Beach House, and Cardi B, or running on Thompson Creek Trail. Her goals this year are to make the WCC’s social media accounts more active, and make the most of her last year at Webb.
Wura Ogunnaike, Editor of Culture & Lifestyle & Social Media Manager
After spending her summer in a lab for a science research program, Wura Ogunnaike (23’) is ready to return to the Webb Canyon Chronicle as a Social Media Manager and the Editor of Culture & Lifestyle. Reflecting her earlier efforts, Wura enjoys writing for the publication because of the freedom and wide range of topics she can cover in the process. This year, aside from having fun with writing, Wura is also taking on the responsibility of a Social Media Manager by utilizing social media outreach to attract more readership and enhance the reputation of the Webb Canyon Chronicle. Outside of the newsroom, Wura is a Jameson dorm prefect, where she always demonstrates the perfect balance between enacting leadership when necessary and showing kindness to her fellow dorm residents. In her free time, Wura likes to read, hike, and listen to Taylor Swift songs. However, her favorite song is “This is What Makes Us Girls” by Lana Del Rey. In addition to developing new interests, her goal for herself is to branch out in multimedia and work on social media-related publications. Some examples include podcasts or a photo gallery, which she has already exposed herself to during her first year of journalism.  Favorite Song: "This Is What Makes Us Girls" by Lana Del Rey

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