Desire to break barriers, be an example fuels student’s journalistic drive

One of the pivotal moments of 16-year-old Zoie Stayton’s journalism career was an interview with an exchange student at Sam Barlow High School in January.

The student spoke about how she had to leave friends and family behind in the Philippines, the surprising differences between the Philippines and the United States, and how the change had affected her.

“It opened up my eyes to see life from another perspective,” Zoie said, “to see struggles I never thought she could have gone through.”

One of the stories that solidified Zoie’s pursuit of journalism was her first big story for her school’s newspaper, the Bruin Banner. People of various professions came to a career fair at her school to tell students about what they do for their job and more general information on their field of work.

Reporting on this story required Zoie to interview a variety of people, learn about their careers, what their field is like and more. While initially she didn’t expect to be writing about the topic, it quickly changed into a monumental moment for her.

“It was the first time I’d seen my work be recognized in journalism,” she said, “and it made me determined to push further and try harder.”

Once a year, the Oregon Journalism Education Association holds the Media Olympics, where schools send in their best work to be graded on the quality and compete for awards. When the Bruin Banner received their awards, Zoie was among the students recognized for their work. She took this as a sign that journalism is what she wanted to pursue as a career.

Outside of journalism, she enjoys history — in particular, ancient Egyptian history and the smaller details of their era like how they treated injuries and other medical issues.

Her drive to succeed in her education comes from her desire to break the barrier of economic issues that she said held back her parents. She also said she wants to show her little brother that even in difficult circumstances he can surpass it and achieve his dreams.

While she previously did Key Club, her education has become primarily focused on journalism and AVID, a program that gives students resources and support that allows them to prepare for college and their future, and other similar forms of support and assistance.

While Zoie is unsure of where exactly she wants to go after high school, she knows a few things.

“I want to go out of state for college, that’s my main goal.” Zoie said. “I want to get out of Oregon and explore … and spread my work the furthest I can.”

While she doesn’t have any exact school in mind, she does have her eyes on New York University in New York City.

“I want to be able to live a comfortable life in journalism,” she said.

— Felix Locker, David Douglas High School

This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to

oregonlive.com/hsji