Alexandria Lau

The purpose of Lau’s winning program, “Telling a Story that Changes Lives,” is to explore the roots of poverty and discover what action teens can take to overcome poverty in Los Angeles. Journalism students will partner with photography and film students to publish a newspaper, website and documentary on overcoming poverty in Los Angeles. Students will interview teens who are currently homeless to compare and contrast their lives to those of middle- and upper-class families. The students will proactively research organizations that offer affordable housing, healthcare and job training to people in the transient community. The program’s goal is to raise student awareness about how poverty affects their community and mobilize teens to donate their time and resources to support nonprofit agencies that help get kids off the street. Lau intends to sustain investigative reporting and storytelling for students by taking on a new issue facing the community each year. Lau resides in Los Angeles.