School: Julia R. Masterman

Grade: 9th

Background/interest/hobbies: Mariacristina lives in West Philadelphia. Her hobbies include ballet, piano, and reading. She is also a fan of The Beatles.

Reason for applying : She applied to the workshop because she recently discovered that she enjoys reading newspapers and listening to NPR. She likes the fast-paced work of news reporting, and wants to learn how to be an effective writer, reporting on those issues that affect her community.

Looking ahead: She doesn’t know what she would like to do just yet.