Alexandrea Fannell, who goes by Alex for short, has spent the last four years growing and learning at Cardozo in the Journalism program. Looking back, the now-senior reflected on how much she has learned and how the program has helped and shaped her during her high school journey.
Originally, Fannell said that she joined the Journalism program due to her childhood. When she was little, she was diagnosed with a speech impediment. She looked at the Journalism program as a way to help her improve her speech, as journalism often involves talking to people and interviewing.
But, what really got her interested in the program more deeply was her teacher, Mrs. Gutterman, who was her freshman English teacher and then her advisor of the school newspaper during her junior year. Now, she spends her lunch period sitting in the newsroom, even though she is no longer a reporter for the paper; simply for the love of it.
Looking back, Fannell experienced many challenges throughout her time at Cardozo. Now, on the cusp of graduating, she feels grateful for all that she has gone through. “I experienced a handful of incidents…like communicating with teachers, trying to figure out what I did wrong, keeping up with grades,” she said.
Now, Fannell has it all figured out. She comes to school earlier than most students, around 7 a.m., even though her classes don’t start until 2nd period. She helps numerous teachers and staff, including monitoring for Mrs. Kierez, the Assistant Principal of the English Department.
Some of the experiences she struggled with were nothing but a way to grow and learn, in her eyes. Her biggest accomplishments, she said, were how she was able to maintain having a job, school work, and her relationships with her family.
“Lately, I have been constantly busy and I’m kind of grateful for, you know, my friends, my family, for actually understanding it,” Fannell said. “I think, you know, me being me, is good.”
One of the skills she feels that she has learned throughout her time in Journalism and just in general is being good with communication. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m a yapper,” she joked. “I will walk up to your face and say hi and just yap.” Fannell laughed that she just loves to talk to people and get to know them, which is a vital skill for journalists and people working in the industry to have.
As a senior, Fannell went through the typical experience with senioritis at the beginning of the school year, when seniors lose motivation to come to school and do well. But, she found her inspiration and motivation to keep going through her friends.
“At the beginning of senior year, I was not motivated to do anything…I was not motivated to get up in the morning,” Fannell explained. Now, she finds motivation by, “Having friends, having teachers, administrators that actually care for you and want to see your success,” she said.
As for what success looks like, Fannell shared, “People think that success is like getting a job, having kids by like 23 or 25…they define success as big achievements but, I think little things matters too,” she said. “Like getting up in the morning, going to school…I consider success…little steps, baby steps.”
Now, only three months away from graduating, Fannell is ready to take the next steps. She plans to attend college after graduating from the Journalism program, and is excited for where her education journey will bring her in the future.
