The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is proud to introduce its 2026 JCamp cohort and mark a major milestone: the 25th anniversary of the program.
Founded in 2001 by Mark Angeles, Josh Freedom du Lac, and Neal Justin, JCamp has grown into one of the nation’s premier journalism programs for high school students. Since its launch, more than 1,000 students have taken part in the intensive training experience.
JCamp 2026 was held from June 20-26 in Minneapolis. Thanks to the continued support of partners including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ford Foundation, and other dedicated sponsors, the program remains fully funded, allowing students to attend at no cost to their families.
Throughout the week, students learned directly from working journalists who serve as faculty mentors, building skills in reporting, writing, photography, broadcast, and digital media. The curriculum emphasizes JCamp’s core principles: strengthening diversity in newsrooms and coverage, developing cross-cultural communication and ethical decision-making, and fostering leadership, collaboration, and community.
“JCamp is celebrating 25 years of inspiring and forming generations of the industry’s journalists, business leaders, innovators and communicators,” Arelis Hernández said. “This new crop of students, hailing from around the country and world, represent everything the program’s founders hoped for all those years ago. We are thrilled to present the cohort this summer in Minneapolis as the latest example of JCamp’s tradition of excellence and humanity.”
Hernández, a Texas border correspondent at The Washington Post and a 2004 JCamp alum, returned as one of the co-directors for the program. She was joined by co-director Ben Bartenstein, a London-based correspondent at Bloomberg News and 2011 JCamp alum, and co-director Timmy Huynh, operations director and photo editor at The Wall Street Journal and a 2005 JCamp graduate.
This year’s volunteer faculty also included Alex Lo, breaking news assignment desk editor at NBC News and a 2014 JCamp alum; Clare Ramirez, senior designer at The Hollywood Reporter and a 2012 alum; Neal Justin, TV critic at the Star Tribune; and Taylor Mirfendereski, a multimedia investigative journalist and 2007 alum.
JCamp 2026 coincided with AAJA’s National Convention, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota from June 24-28.
AAJA is proud to accept the following students to JCamp 2026:
Adwita Sriram – Libertyville, Illinois (Libertyville High School)
Amy Khaing – Chanayetharzan Township, Mandalay, Myanmar (Milton Academy)
Anais Froberg-Martinez – Minnetonka, Minnesota (Perpich Center for Arts Education)
Areeba Suleman – Legari Colony Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan (Lahore Grammar School OPF Senior Girls)
Aritra Ray – Princeton, New Jersey (Princeton High School)
Ava-Grace Satterfield – Herndon, Virginia (South Lakes High School)
Edward Cheung – Haverford, Pennsylvania (The Haverford School)
Ethan Ly – Andover, Massachusetts (Phillips Academy)
Euri Kim – Tustin, California (Arnold O. Beckman High School)
Gabi Flohr – Germantown, Tennessee (St. George’s Independent School)
Hannah Therese Esteva – Winchester, California (Temecula Preparatory School)
Ivy Qin – Troy, Michigan (Troy High School)
Katherine Hwang – Sacramento, California (Saint Francis High School)
Katie Sikes – Brownsville, Texas (Veterans Memorial Early College High School)
Keerthi Eraniyan – San Ramon, California (California High)
Leah Gavilan – Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (Dwight-Englewood School)
Mark Li – Ellicott City, Maryland (River Hill High School)
Miyelani Mathebula – Homewood, Alabama (Homewood High School)
Paghunda Ali – McLean, Virginia (McLean High School)
Philip Lee – Flushing, New York (Townsend Harris High School)
Regina Ho – Omaha, Nebraska (Millard South High School)
Rosalie Navarro – Houston, Texas (Bellaire High School)
Savannah Troncoso – Alpharetta, Georgia (Alpharetta High School)
Sihan Liu – Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China (Colorado Rocky Mountain School)
Sophia Ruggieri – Malvern, Pennslyvania (Great Valley Highschool)
Tania Lopez – Sylmar, California (Daniel Pearl Magnet High School)
Zaid Naqvi – Cupertino, California (Monta Vista High School)
