Looking Back: A Reflection on Time Spent with the Post and in the Palisades

By SPENCER JUNG | Intern

I first became a Palisadian in 2007 when my family and I moved from Park La Brea.

A year and a half prior, my parents made the decision to immigrate to the United States from South Korea for two reasons: my education and moving several hundred miles away from North Korea.

After graduating from Marquez Charter Elementary and Paul Revere Charter Middle schools, going into high school at Palisades Charter High School introduced new uncertainty and uneasiness. Whereas elementary and middle school flew by in what felt like a couple days, high school and the looming pressure of college applications seemed to drag on for years.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in sophomore year, a friend of mine proposed the idea of joining Pali High’s Tideline, the school newspaper. I’ve wanted to be involved in student journalism since middle school, so I eagerly applied once the applications were open. I’ve been honored to have Lisa Nehus Saxon, the paper’s advisor, as my mentor.

As an avid baseball fan, we bonded over stories she’s accumulated during her time writing for Los Angeles Daily News, the publication she worked for prior to teaching. Mrs. Saxon, who was the second female beat writer that covered Major League Baseball, not only helped me become a better writer and editor, but showed me that the effort and struggles I put in will eventually pay off.

Fast forward to the end of junior year: I wanted to get involved at an internship over a summer that left an impact on my community, but had trouble thinking of ones to apply to. Due to most programs either canceling or remaining virtual, it was hard to find one that interested me.

One day, my dad came up to me while I was completing AP summer homework and said the Palisadian-Post was starting to accept applications. Before my mornings became dedicated to last-minute homework in high school, I would eat breakfast while reading the latest edition of the Post over and over again to be up to date with what was going on around my neighborhood.

Combined with my passion for journalism, as well as my goal of impacting the community, I applied and started writing for the Post in June 2021. During the summer, I developed a handful of stories that ranged from advertising Pali High clubs to interviewing my former elementary school teacher.

Additionally, the Post gave me the opportunity to review and edit weekly editions of the paper, which prepped me as I was becoming an editor in Tideline the upcoming school year.

As I begin to adjust to college life in the Bay Area, being able to leave a mark on my community in the Palisades made me appreciate the past 15 years.

Journalism is an activity I plan on continuing in college by joining the student publications.

Spencer Jung was one of the Palisadian-Post’s summer 2022 interns. The Post staff thanks Spencer for his hard work this year.