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FastForward #33 VOL 3 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024

THE PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST Over 300 entries vied for the top prizes. See the pictures that took the top three spots, Honorable Mentions and Awards of Merit in another strong year for photographers from Marin County high schools.

Maya Olsen, Senior, San Domenico School

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“FRIDAY EXPLORATIONS” Students in lower school at Mount Tamalpais School have the opportunity for enrichment during “Friday Explorations.” The enrichment allows students to have voice and choice in what they learn and gives them a chance to be in class with students from other grades. Kindergarten through 5th graders select from a wide array of options such as rock climbing, photographing patterns in nature, origami, robotics, ping pong, mindfulness, ﬁdget-making, Chinese martial arts, and juggling oﬀered by lower school teachers. Pictured here, students test out the aerodynamics of their paper airplanes.

MOUNT TAMALPAIS SCHOOL

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Pictured here are the devoted Peaceful Playground Coaches from Strawberry Point School. Volunteering their recess, these remarkable children pledge to ensure a safe and inclusive playground. They’re not just friends peers can talk to, but also guides for those feeling lonely, helping them find playmates or activities.From using kind language and resolving conflicts peacefully to playing fair and ensuring everyone’s included, their commitment resonates with the core values of Strawberry Point, making truly feel they belong, and to remember to be kinder than necessary!

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MON-SAT 7am - 7:30pm SUN 9am-7pm 12 Corte Madera Avenue Mill Valley 415-388-3222 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024

Spotlight

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

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With 327 entries, we are publishing our 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place winners and 11 Honorable Mentions

1st

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$300

Devon Green

Senior, Marin Academy “Liquid Sofa”

2nd

3rd

$200

Victoria Jarmicki

Senior, Marin Catholic High School

$100

Selma Gridley

Sophomore, Marin Academy FASTFORWARD FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 2024 55

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: HONORABLE MENTION $50

Maya Olsen, Senior “Experimental”

Cece Dickinson Junior 6 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024

Noah DiRienzo, Junior

Caitlin Smith, Senior

Ezra Trost-Goldhammer, Senior

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: HONORABLE MENTIONS Ewan Smith , Senior

Emme Hart, Senior

Owen Gurion, Sophomore

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ford Curby, Junior

Alyssa Huang, Freshman Callie Zimmerman, Senior

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: AWARDS OF MERIT

Grady Krause, Junior

Henry Wooster Senior

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AWARDS OF MERIT

Kate Pickrell, Junior

Iris Weiner, Senior Callie Zimmerman, Senior

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Journalism is Evolving AN INTERVIEW WITH KARTHIK PATANJALI SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

ith all the recent advancements in technology, the notion of what it means to be a journalist is changing. The old model of newspaper vets and journalism school grads pounding out copy for a reading public has at least partly made way for new concepts in the presentation and distribution of information. Meet Karthik Patanjali, Special Projects Editor for The New York Times, who finds new and innovative ways to tell stories visually so they’re easier to comprehend. Patanjali’s background is in computer science and programming, with an engineering degree and a master’s in industrial design — not the usual CV of a Times editor. After working as a product designer, he was accepted into New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), which explores technology and media and how they intersect with other areas of study. After earning his Master’s at NYU, Patanjali worked with the MIT Media Lab before joining the Times. The Special Projects department was established in 2012 and has a staff of eight (some of whom were also in the ITP program) in addition to experts invited to collaborate on specific projects. Patanjali entered the newspaper world by chance. “The definition of what you need to know to be a journalist has evolved quite a bit recently,” he says, noting that more and

“The change journalism causes is something that is really meaningful to us. And that’s the point of journalism — you want to explain something and make that actionable.”

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J0URNALISM

more people are joining the field who don’t have a traditional journalism background (such as architects and industrial designers), working together while “exploring their own expertise, and using that expertise for coverage.” Patanjali enjoys his job, and his passion comes across in his work. He admits that, “as soon as a piece publishes, I get a dopamine high.” This is most evident in his favorite project, “Apollo 11: As They Shot It,” created as a tribute to the moon landing on its 50th anniversary. When Patanjali displayed it on a projector for our group of FastForward reporters, it was met with a collective “wow.” The concept of this breathtaking exhibit is that most people have seen the famous images from the moon landing, but not many know their context. The piece opens with white words on a black background, which are actual transcripts from the moon landing. As the viewer scrolls down, the words are accompanied by a collage of images, including one that overlaps the moon’s lunar surface. ”It feels like we’re living through the moon landing in space and time,” says Patanjali. “Sorry for the pun.” Although this isn’t “hard news,” the passion of Patanjali and his team shines through to make it absolutely memorable. Another project, launched at the height of the pandemic, was “Masks Work. Really. We’ll Show You How.” Patanjali’s goal was to encourage more masking by explaining how masks help prevent transmission of the COVID-19 virus. A common goal across all of his projects is “to simplify really complex information so that everybody is able to understand it.” While researching this piece, Patanjali discovered that the way masks work is much more complicated than he realized. Instead of the mask working like a sieve, a magnetic attraction of particles comes into play. To simplify this concept, Patanjali and his team “imagined a journey

where you travel along with the particles and see how different forces help you filter those particles.” Although a particle’s journey through a mask might seem insignificant, it’s actually equivalent to one and a half to two miles in length because the fibers are so complex. The piece also included an Instagram-hosted augmented-reality (AR) experience, which “projects information onto your space so that you can understand it.” In this case, AR helped the viewer understand how the fibers of an N95 respirator filter aerosols of different sizes by projecting it into their space. In a related project, “Why Opening Windows Is a Key to Reopening Schools,” Patanjali and his team explored the impact opening windows has on the spread of COVID-19. An airflow diagram showed how the virus is (or is not) transmitted under different circumstances, such as with an air cleaner, fan, or open window. This piece featured AR as well and was one of Patanjali’s most successful projects, helping schools and other organizations best utilize their resources to fight COVID. The team even received an email from a school in Africa that passed on the information to their government. “The change journalism causes is something that is really meaningful to us,” says Patanjali. “And that’s the point of journalism — you want to explain something and make that actionable.” As the way people consume information continues to change, so will the definition of what it means to be a journalist, which will in turn make room for new and interesting talents in the field.

Photo, right: Karthik Patanjali explains how he and his team create graphic diagrams and charts, adding visual explanations to stories that appear in The New York Times.

14 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: AWARDS OF MERIT

Lea Gorham, Senior

Heidi Koch Senior

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Cade Savage Schwartz, Sophomore

Noah Hirson, Junior

Cece Radachy, Senior

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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: AWARDS OF MERIT

Victoria Jarmicki Senior Jane McDermott, Sophomore

BELLAM SELF STORAGE & BOXES

WE THANK BELLAM SELF STORAGE & BOXES FOR SPONSORING AWARDS FOR OUR PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

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Jenniffer Valiente, Senior

Ruby Trainor, Junior

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PHOTOGRAPHY COMMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: CONTEST: SOCIAL AWARDS OF MERIT

The photographs on these pages use social commentary to comment and /or offer criticism about society— with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing others about a given problem and appealing to people’s sense of justice. An awareness of issues helps our community learn about and more deeply engage in creating change in our community.

Visit: marinlibrary.org

Photos by Diego Doyle, Olivia Felson, and Callie Zimmerman Marin Academy Bear Lyon, Marin Catholic High School

Callie Zimmerman , Senior

Diego Doyle, Senior

Diego Doyle, Senior Callie Zimmerman, Senior 24 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY

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Callie Zimmerman, Senior

Bear Lyon, Junior

Olivia Felson, Senior

FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 25

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To learn more about our work with Bay Area school gardens, visit www.sloatgardens.com Mill Valley: 401 Miller Ave. 415-388-0365 & 657 E. Blithedale Ave. 415-388-0102 Kentfield: 700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. 415-454-0262 Novato: 2000 Novato Blvd. 415-897-2169

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Garden students and garden parents share why they love the garden: ● I love the garden because it’s a fun way to help the planet. — Nova ● I like the garden because we get to grow vegetables and fruits. — Kai ● I like the garden because I get to try new things I’ve never tried. It’s a great way for me to connect with my whole school community. — Keira ● I like the garden because we get to grow our own food and because there’s always something for everybody to do. — Isla ● I love the garden because it’s outdoors. — Nora I think the garden is so much fun and the garden parents are cool! We do fun activities like making tomatillo salsa. — Niall ● I like the garden because it has good food. — Eleanor ● I like the garden because it is calm and you can connect with nature. — Ruby ● I love the garden because I like gardening. I love picking the vegetables and watching the monarch chrysalises. — Kavi ● I love the garden because I like picking vegetables and moving dirt. — Mason ● I love the garden because I like creating art from nature and making delicious salads. — Lucia ● The garden helps us learn about growth and rebirth. — Audrey ● I love the garden because it is fun and prett y and there are lots of nice people hanging out there. I love it because it is calm. — Vanessa ● I love the garden because we get to make a lot of stuff and it’s fun to get to eat what we grow. — GG ● The garden is a place where kids can get away from the hubbub of the playground, feel connected to nature and their peers, explore, and see science concepts in action. Kids and grown ups alike get to see (literal!) fruits of teamwork, patience, and perseverance. It’s beautiful! — Garden Parent Elizabeth ● I love the garden because it is an incredible place to learn. The garden is rife with questions and further realizations. It’s also stunning to watch kids eat so much salad! I love to be around the kids! — Garden Parent John ● I love the garden because it is a directed communal activity where everyone participates. We get to watch kids grow out of their shells by helping, working, and being a part of the many garden activities. — Garden Parent James

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST: AWARDS OF MERIT Brady Stewart, Sophomore

Gabby Tuthull, Senior

Kailan Robinson, Junior, Marin Academy

Jake McDonnell, Junior

Shane Whittley, Junior

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Attention to Detail

AN INTERVIEW WITH PAM BELLUCK REPORTER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

ow much can you tell from a sticky note over a bathroom sink, or the startled craning of a turtle’s neck? For veteran New York Times journalist Pam Belluck, they can define a whole story. The sticky note delineated the impact long COVID had on a young woman’s health. The turtle encapsulated a Nantucket doctor’s medicinal strolls through a local forest. In such small details Belluck explores the complexities of human life. In 1986, Princeton grad Pam Belluck went to the Philippines on a Fulbright Scholarship. Armed with a degree in international relations, a minor in East Asian studies, and a dream of becoming a foreign correspondent, she wanted “to make the world a bit better in some way.” Six weeks later, Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown, and her career began with a bang. Today, chatting with a circle of FastForward reporters, Belluck reads the room like she’s writing a story about us, not the other way around. It’s as if she could glean the angle of her article from something as simple as the tilt of a notepad. Her long experience as an acute observer shows in the casually professional set of her shoulders, her discerning gaze, her comforting presence.

After 37 years as a journalist, Belluck has racked up quite a list of accomplishments. She describes her résumé as an “eclectic combination” that’s helped her “take these complex issues … and write about them in what’s hopefully a kind of engaging and approachable way.” She developed that skill on the ground in the Philippines and afterwards as a staff writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Philadelphia Inquirer and as a national bureau chief for The Times. Each post allowed her to find stories in all sorts of circumstances and interact with all kinds of people. “There’s a lot of serendipity in this field, you know, it’s all about curiosity and learning, hearing about something and deciding that might be a good story. At least that’s what it is for me.” One serendipitous moment landed on her desk in the form of a medical alumni newsletter when she was the Times’ New England bureau chief. She had just been assigned to write a profile on “someone who wasn’t famous, someone who hadn’t been written about before, and the only sort of criteria was this person is doing something interesting in an interesting place.” After scanning a piece in the newsletter about a particularly interesting alum, Belluck reached for the phone. It was her first time speak-

ing to Dr. Timothy J. Lepore, the only surgeon on the island of Nantucket. “He was just this fascinating guy, very eccentric, a little cranky, very funny.” Lepore would become the subject of her first book, Island Practice. Over the next four years Belluck would visit him on vacations and long weekends while continuing to work at the Times, now as a “There’s a lot of member of the serendipity in this field, paper’s health and science de- you know, it’s all about partment. She curiosity and learning, shadowed him through the Feb- hearing about something ruary mud sea- and deciding that might be son, on November deer hunts, a good story. At least that’s at football games what it is for me.” and tick disease consultations and house calls to a hermit. Island Practice is full of small details (Lepore’s hand-carved obsidian scalpels, the marijuana cookies he accepted as payment, his hobby of knitting with dog hair), and through them Belluck paints a colorful portrait of the odd doctor’s life. “The hardest part was figuring out when to stop,” she says, “and trying to figure out how to organize it into what ended up being thematic chapters.” Nantucket’s year-round population

WRITER: SEMIRA ROBINSON, UCLA FRESHMAN. REPORTERS: CAMI COLPITTS, HARPER DEAN, JORDAN POTTER, HALEY LEFFERTS, CHARLOTTE MARTIN, AMANDA MAUZY, LAUREN OLSEN, JOSIE HAYDEN-SMITH, EMERSON SWIFT, JENNIFFER VALIENTE AND YOGA WENG. FROM: BRANSON, MARIN ACADEMY, MARIN CATHOLIC, TAMALPAIS HIGH, REDWOOD HIGH AND URBAN SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO 28 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY

2024

is quite diverse. “You have a big Salvadoran community and Cambodian community” living alongside people “trying to remake themselves in some way…looking for a new identity.” Exploring the island and its tightknit group of people “was a great way to sort of stretch [my] writing muscles” because she could experiment with different styles and techniques. But it also helped her learn “how to talk to people who are in very vulnerable circumstances, you know, make them feel comfortable, make them feel respected.” Belluck has used these skills around the world. Covering the West African Ebola epidemic — “the first time the world woke up to… a virus that was very deadly and spreading very rapidly” — her team found that many global agencies “neglected to pay attention to local people,” ignoring those “who were really familiar with the culture and the health conditions and people’s resistance to certain outwardly imposed restrictions.” They concluded that this neglect contributed to the virus’s ultimate outbreak and induced the World Health Organization to update their emergency response practices. The team’s diligent and empathetic coverage won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2015. “[Reporting on] big stories are increasingly team sports,” Belluck says, adding that teamwork is one of her favorite parts of the job. She hopes that the future of journalism is “as inclusive as we can be, not only the stories that we do, but making sure that we’re telling stories that are important to as many different communities as possible.” Belluck has covered stories all over the world, and wherever she goes her reporting is agile, detailed, humble, and imaginative. “I’m very lucky to be able to do this work,” she says. “It’s just endlessly meaningful. Not just the creative process, but all the stuff that comes before, meeting people and being able to engage with people who have so many different experiences.” FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 29

for

Meaningfully engaged

Passionate

Working side-by-side

Join a community that pushes intellectual boundaries, immerses itself in critical and creative thinking, and cultivates the tools to live life fully. Visit our website to explore the school and submit an inquiry. www.ma.org 1600 Mission Avenue, San Rafael 30 FASTFORWARD JANUARY-FEBRUARY

2024

Saint Isabella K-8 School provides a wholesome nurturing environment that establishes a foundation for lifelong learning. We are a parent involved school located in Terra Linda on a private campus close to Hwy. 101. Our programs promote the academic, social, and spiritual development of our students.

School Tours are offered by Appointment To schedule a personalized tour, please contact us at 415-479-3727 x112 or admissions@stisabellaschool.org 1 Trinity Way Terra Linda – San Rafael www.stisabellaschool.org

FastForward

NYC

2024

JULY 22- 26

...be there

SAN RAFAEL HIGH SCHOOL GUITAR CLASS

First row (left to right) - Grace Van Genderen, Lyric Henry, Darli Herrara Lopez and Cesar Ramos Mejia. Second row - Anthony Vazquez, Yesica Orozco, Leighann Maldonado, Genesis Caballero Duron, Jose Santos Morales and Cristian Couoh Castillo. Third row - Abe Hannah, Humberto Gonzalez, Cristopher Martinez Cardona, Bryan Yash, Daniel Salmon Martinez, Angel Hidalgo, Bryan Huinac, Nate Blumin, Martin Ruiz Raymundo and Jose Santos Morales. Back, standing, Kevin Gordon (teacher).

United Markets congratulates these San Rafael High School music students and their teacher Kevin Gordon. Beginner Guitar is a course for students who want to learn the basics of guitar, whether or not they have any prior musical knowledge or training. Over the course of the semester, and the year, students will learn how to play chords and melodies, and also how to play in various small to full class groups. While students will be exposed to several types of musical notation, the goal will be for students to gain confidence playing guitar so they can go on to play in whatever setting they might like - be it at home by themselves, all the way to playing for a stadium of adoring fans (someday). Students & Teacher share: I like learning a new skill. —Abner Rodas Something I like about this class is learning interesting new songs. — Bryan Huinac We also get help learning songs we’re interested in. — Lyric Henry One great thing about this class get to play really great and iconic music. — Lucca-Antonio Lameli I like that guitar allows us to play real songs right away, without tons of practice. — Emely De Leon I took this class so that I could play guitar for my mom. — Yesica Orozco I love teaching this class because guitar is a very versatile instrument. You can play melodies, chords, and music from so many genres and styles that are popular throughout the world. Playing music that students enjoy changes the whole way they engage with the music. — Kevin Gordon DEDICATED TO SERVING THE COMMUNITY WE LIVE IN Two Convenient Locations For Your Shopping Needs

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FastForward | January - February 2024