11-Year-Old Kennedy Phifer is Selected for the Scholastic Kids Press
Not too many people know exactly what they want at the age of eleven, but not everyone is like Kennedy Phifer. Phifer has plans on being the first woman African American Supreme Court Justice and no one’s going to stop her from reaching that.
“I want to make a lot of differences in the world because nothings really getting handled,” said Phifer.
Phifer wants to one day have compost bins at parks and wants to bring awareness on how to care for the Earth. She wants people to stop littering and to start recycling at home because “even the little things matter.”
“Take care of the Earth,” said Phifer. "I want to see a clean nice Earth” with no racism or violence. Phifer also wants to put an end to child trafficking.
Before Phifer reaches her ultimate goal, she’s filling her days with new opportunities. Phifer is not only intelligent, but partakes in multiple sports: track, cross country and basketball. During the summer, for the first time, Phifer participated in the National American Miss Pageant, which she highly enjoyed. According to Phifer, she already has ideas for her outfits for next year’s pageant.
Kennedy Phifer will spend a year as a Kid Reporter for the Scholastic Kids Press. (Picture by Sarah Kaul/Carvd N Stone)
Phifer’s latest new endeavor is being selected as 1 out of 50 students around the world to be a Kid Reporter for the Scholastic Kids Press. According to their site, Scholastic started a Kids Press Corps in 2000 because the then editor Suzanne Freeman wanted to make the 2000 presidential election fun for children.
“Instead of adults explaining the electoral process, I wanted our readers to actually see it through the eyes of their peers,” Freeman said in a letter from the current editor Suzanne McCabe.
Although Phifer doesn’t know much about journalism, she’s excited to write about positive stories. When applying for the application, it took Phifer about two days. Included in the Kid Reporter application is a typed news article, a typed essay that answers the question: Why do you want to be a Kid Reporter and two ideas for stories about their community that they would like to work on as a Kid Reporter.
This year’s Scholastic Kid Reporters come from 21 states in the United States and several countries around the world. Phifer’s articles along with the other 49 Kid Reporters will be published on the Scholastic Kids Press website and in select issues of Scholastic Classroom Magazines, which reaches more than 25 million students in classrooms nationwide, according to a press release.
The program is for students ages 10–14 where they will cover “news for kids, by kids”. The coverage ranges from current events to entertainment and more from their hometowns, along with national stories.
One thing Phifer wants to get of out this opportunity is to become a better writer.
“Writing is a part of everyday life,” she said.
Phifer is a 5th grader from Glendale, WI and she is is one of many amazing youth who give the future hope. For more information on how to become a Scholastic Kid Reporter, click here.