翻译
COVID-19 Reflections: Alum Nina Luo, Technologist and Humanitarian
A deep thinker, with a thirst for knowledge and an agent of change, Nina Luo from the Class of 2018 is determined to improve our world through journalism and technology. Her motivation, which was nurtured and shaped at Clairbourn school, is to help others and save lives. She wants to make a positive impact on our society and world. After becoming aware that Nina recently published several COVID-19 related articles on WeChat and was starting a website featuring overlooked and under-reported news, we caught up with her to ask about her current projects and future endeavors.
Nina is currently a sophomore at the Webb Schools of California where she has been honing her coding skills—an interest started at Clairbourn. She bolstered her computer science skills by gaining knowledge of machine learning and taking a Python and web-scripting course at the coding school co-founded by her mother Linda Li. She has collaborated on coding projects with her friend Caroline Kwan, also a Clairbourn alumn, and a computer science professor at Cal Poly Pomona to develop an app called Dishcovery, a program that recommends popular dishes at restaurants based on Yelp reviews.
In addition to being an avid technologist, Nina is also passionate about and skilled in visual art. She became interested in art after taking Mrs. Ball’s art class at Clairbourn and upon studying art history. She mentioned how fascinating it was to discover the story and context behind significant pieces of art. It is no surprise, then, that she is now applying her art and tech skills by making illustrations for WeChat articles and creating logos for other projects. She also created the logo for The Unknown Times, a WeChat news forum that she co-founded with a couple of friends earlier this year, marking her exciting foray into journalism.
To Nina, journalism combines her enthusiasm for technology with her love of writing (sparked by Mrs.Taylor 's English class at Clairbourn) and an appreciation for humanistic values. It is through journalism that Nina feels she can make a difference by sharing news and stories that have been overlooked. She felt compelled to start the news forum because as she put it, “There weren’t a lot of news sources reporting on COVID-19 cases that were impacting people around me, the people who were suffering.” She gave the example of her neighbor who had just given birth, and she wanted to know, “How would that work, would she go to the hospital, and what kinds of choices did she have to make?” It started with curiosity, but then she realized the urgency of sharing these stories because it could save lives, and as she puts it, "...bond people together in our global village." Her goal is to eventually broadcast her stories and make them more accessible to the general public.
In the following interview, read more about Nina Luo’s COVID-19 reflections and her journalistic endeavors that will bring under-reported stories to the fore.
What are some reflections you have had during quarantine period and about COVID-19?
I have been thinking about the dreadfulness of this crisis. Ever since COVID-19 turned into a worldwide issue, Americans have been turning to all kinds of news sources to provide information. Mixed in with trustworthy news are fictitious home remedies and false information on the infectiousness of the virus. In dangerous times like today, the media bears the responsibility of reporting accurate news. Otherwise, it is likely that the lives of millions influenced by those lies would be at risk.
Would you explain and describe the two blog posts you published on WeChat and the intended audience?
My first blog post is about the recent sufferings of beekeepers in China. Due to the COVID-19 travel bans, beekeepers were unable to make their yearly spring journey to chase flower fields. That has been detrimental to the production of honey and as a result, many beekeepers now face financial ruin. My article explores how tragedies like this could have been prevented if policymakers considered the biological necessities of agricultural workers.
My second blog post debunks the recent conspiracy theories surrounding 5G and COVID-19. Conspiracists believe that 5G radio waves are responsible for spreading the virus. In Birmingham, England, there have been many cases of conspiracists setting 5G towers on fire and harassing telecom technicians. My article not only disproves the conspiracies against 5G through stating scientific facts but also introduces 5G as a tool that could connect friends and families during quarantine as well as aid doctors in their quest to save lives.
My intended audience for my stories is Americans. In both posts, I reported on recent events from foreign countries. In the current time and age, Americans confine themselves to domestic affairs, rarely learning about stories outside of the United States. This confinement is problematic for two reasons. First, this is partly because Americans are creating stereotypes of people from other backgrounds based on the scarce information they consume about those people. Second, we live in the United States, but more importantly, we all reside in the global village. If more information is known about people from all over the world, we will be closer to achieving peace through understanding.
How did you become interested in journalism?
I have always admired journalists and news reporters. Since they cover so many news stories, they must be well versed in all kinds of historical events, scientific facts, and important figures. Over the course of their career, they must have reported many stories on both the good and bad sides of human nature and interaction. They are the ones who have the power to sway the public. They act as another check and balance for the three branches of government and this is one reason why they are often referred to as the fourth branch of government.
You mentioned that you believe in the importance of storytelling. Would you explain what you mean by this?
Good stories take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster and in the end, teach the audience a lesson. The best stories not only fulfill the criteria of a good story-telling but become a core part of who we are. They will go on to impact our daily decision making, and even change the trajectory of history.
Would you like to explore journalism as a career? What kinds of challenges and rewards would you expect from this career?
Yes! I feel like I have achieved something important when I spread accurate information to people in need of it. That in itself is a reward. The challenge is to be able to scout out that accurate information especially when the topic is so recent that even experts are unsure of the facts. Even in those circumstances, it is necessary to truthfully convey to the public the current situation without letting down their guard or causing mass panic. However, at times there may even be a need to cause panic of some degree to get people to realize the importance of the issue. In conclusion, professional journalism requires critical thinking and constant evaluation of what is best for the general public while staying honest.
What journalistic endeavors do you wish to pursue? You mentioned a website and writing more articles that you hope to get onto more mainstream outlets. Would you explain what projects you have in mind?
Yes, the website would be the first step to increasing the size of our audience. Since our articles are only viewable on WeChat, it is not very accessible to a wide audience. A website, on the other hand, can be viewed by anyone without downloading and creating an account. We are currently in the corona-virus edition of The Unknown Times, meaning that all the articles that so far have been published have to do with COVID-19 and are not reported by mainstream news. In the future we will be expanding our news to cover all topics rather than being just COVID-19 related. It is possible that we may cover a general theme such as the rising issue of climate change for a period of time. By the end of that period, we would have compiled dozens of articles around that subject written by many different student contributors. That way, we would be able to explore the issue to the full extent from many different angles and approaches.
What kinds of advice do you have for our students and families who are reading the news? Should they recognize that there are stories and voices that are overlooked? Should they check their sources?
Yes! They should definitely recognize that there are stories and voices overlooked! I advise to always check the source and to always be alert. While bigger news outlets are often reliable and trustworthy, it does not hurt to question everything. During times like this, there is a lot of uncertainty, and it’s easy to minimize this pandemic that we are going through, so it’s best to be prepared for even the worst outcome. Basically, it’s important to stay alert. After all, foresight is one of the best qualities a person could have.
Is there anything else you would like our Clairbourn community to know?
I hope my own experiences are able to convince some of you to fall in love with journalism! Also, please stay safe!
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