Brendan Chung, a rising 9th grader who attends Polytechnic High School shares his experiences about why he chose the finance class.

“To me, what's been appealing so far, at least, is the teacher, he takes on a very global perspective when he talks about different things, how, like, affairs in different countries can affect the stock market, how different currencies have relevance to our own lives,” Chung said.

Toche said a few students in his class will pursue finance at a greater level than just his class and he hopes they will positively impact the finance sector in the future.

“Between 2.5% and 5% of students, I get a feeling they will either be really going for a career in finance or, if not, at least, follow that portfolio very carefully,” Toche said. ”They really seem to be interested in it and researching it.” He added, “The young startups that are just rising, they offer the greatest growth potential, but also the greatest risks. So I'm hoping that students will begin to appreciate these aspects of risks.” 

Hunter Gulani, a rising 8th grader who attends Mayfield Junior School with aspirations to go to Harvard-Westlake for 9th grade, talks about the stock market game frequently used in the class, called “How the Market Works.”

“Definitely. It's a really nice way to learn about stocks in a safe and helpful way,” says Gulani. “And it's safe because you're not actually trading real money and you know, if the different stocks you buy and different crypto or digital money that you buy, you can see how it makes you grow or it makes your growth decline.”

Kelton was first exposed to play-by-play broadcasting in October 2017 as a freshman attending UC Santa Barbara. He instantly became interested and started devoting all his time to practicing his broadcasting skills. He noted that broadcasting “just felt right,” and the more he practiced, the more he fell in love with it.

Kelton emphasized the importance of doing a job that you love. Initially a political science major, Kelton transitioned to play-by-play after discovering his passion for it. He began calling games for UCSB and “never looked back.”

Birdie Reynolds, a rising 10th grader at Harvard-Westlake and a student of the DLJ Journalism Summer class shared her thoughts on Kelton’s presentation.

“I thought you could tell his passion for journalism,” Reynolds said. “I thought that he was really interactive with the audience and he made me want to get into sports journalism, which I’m not a fan of. I liked how energetic Max was and he definitely knew a lot about the world of play-by-play broadcasting.”

In 2019, Kelton became sports director at KCSB, UC Santa Barbara’s student-run radio station. He continued to develop his broadcasting skills while finishing his degree. After graduating in 2021 he moved to Gary, Indiana to call baseball games. He later returned to Santa Barbara and now works with several programs, including Cal Poly, Rice University, the University of Washington, the University of Virginia, and USA Women’s Water Polo.

Kelton named broadcaster Ian Eagle as one of his influences but said he’s focused on building his style and authenticity. “I want to be like myself,” he said.

When asked about his plans for the future, he said “I don’t think about the future, I like to think that whatever I do the future will come.” During his visit, Kelton expressed the significance of taking a “leap of faith” for any hobby you want to pursue, and told the students his long journey to get his dream job.

The Daily Bruin, founded in 1919, has grown to become the third-largest paper in Los Angeles. The student newspaper publishes with organization and discipline, crafting articles on 17 editorial pages. Williams explained the way it is what sets the Daily Bruin apart that it has a firm and substantial method of practicing journalism. "We're so intentional and methodical about what we do," she said, describing how the staff works like a professional newsroom even though it is made up entirely of students, Williams said.

The conversation also touched on the impact of the recent fires across Los Angeles. Williams mentioned that while reporting on these incidents is of utmost importance, safety must be a consideration when it comes to student reporters.

"We wanted to balance reporter safety with reporting," she said.

With some 200 working staffers, the newspaper has a frenetic pace that sometimes means that staffers have to make do without.

"Sometimes we skip a class… we don't maintain a perfect balance, but we make do," Williams said. The vision of the paper, she continued, differs every year based on its editor-in-chief's agenda, making leadership a critical factor in the Daily Bruin's continuous development and flexibility.

The Daily Bruin also has a very influential online presence, according to Williams. Its website receives hundreds of thousands of hits each month, and the newspaper is well-represented online, where Instagram and Twitter are its two biggest platforms for engaging readers.

Gillian Moran Perez, a broadcast producer at LAist, explained how she helps organize the newsroom each day. 

“A lot of it has to do with what’s interesting to people,” Perez said. “I’m always looking for new angles.” She also explained how the station continued to work during the recent LA wildfires. “We had to wear KN95 masks. We had big air purifiers. The people on the second floor had ash falling from the ceiling and onto their desks.” 

During the time of the fires, CBS and KCAL News helped LAist continue production and field coverage.

Perez’s role in the news station includes helping the host speak with both public officials and individuals directly affected by events. She described this as a key part of the station’s approach to covering local news. Perez said, “getting her [host] to talk to important people and talking to people who are impacted the most” was something she was very proud of.

Charlie Sherwood, a rising 9th grader at Harvard Westlake and a student from the Discovering Local Journalism Summer program shared his thoughts on the trip.

“I thought that the trip gave me a little inside peek of what working as a journalist feels like,” Sherwood said.

Later in the visit, journalism students toured the studio and an event space. Michael Lyeva, a studio technician, showed the class a set prepared for an upcoming live cooking event. Lyeva also talked about the station’s goal to involve the public through in-person events. 

“We want to bring the community together through organizations, nonprofits, because we are a nonprofit as well,” Lyeva said. 

During the tour, two students, Peter and Eric, were invited to record a mock advertisement in one of the sound booths. Doug Johnson, the Vice President of Technology and Operations gave students a chance to hear and feel what being an advertisement speaker was like. 

His role as the LA documenters assignment editor at the LA Local News Initiative and assistant editor at CalMatters taught him about how to succeed in the news and media industry.

Reagan’s love for journalism led him to pursue a spot in the newspaper at Occidental College during his first year there. When discussing an upcoming article in the program, Reagan said, “I decided, hey, I’m gonna shoot my shot. I raised my hand, I took on the article, and I really feel like that moment set me up on a trajectory that I’m still on today.”

Gyan Zinn, an upcoming 10th grader at Harvard Westlake and a student at the DLJ Journalism Summer class shared her thoughts about Reagan.

“I thought Reagan was really involved with his community and he wasn’t concerned about money,” Zinn said. “He wasn’t concerned about being at a big news outlet and was a lot more concerned about helping his community. I thought that he was really passionate about his topic and what he was talking about.” 

As editor, Reagan states that, “My job is to really have my team, my reporters’ backs. That’s something I learned from my advisors, and now carry with me as an editor.” His leadership is something that he carries with him on and off the job, and he constantly makes it his mission to be the best he can for his team with constant improvements.

Reagan continued to explain his view of journalism as a service for the community. He believes that journalism should be used to properly inform others. 

Reagan thinks that, “At its core and when it’s done best, journalism is an act of service… to inform the community, to help people make more informed decisions, to help make their day-to-day life maybe just a little bit easier or filled with a little bit more happiness and joy.”

Eric Kim, an upcoming 7th grader attending Harvard Westlake and a student of the DLJ Summer Course shares his experiences about the class. 

“I really liked journalism and I wanted to pursue it and have fun during summer break,” said Kim.

Montgomery, the DLJ Summer Course teacher, has taught the class for the past three years. He shares his experience with the students of this year’s Journalism Summer Course and compares his experience to last year’s class.

“This year, we wanted to focus more on hyperlocal journalism," Montgomery said. "Our goal was to kind of really kind of do a drill away from the traditional mainstream press to do some kind of off the beaten path type thing. Last year, we went to Uncovering Gems in LA. So we took them from some of the most opulent places to some of the most rundown places. Imagine going from Beverly Hills to Skid Row, you know, and some of the students had never seen anything like that before, and so it was a real wake up call for them."

Gyan Zinn, a rising 10th grader attending Harvard Westlake, shares what she learned from the course. 

“I learned about different types of media.. I learned about what's happening in LA journalism wise.”