By Allison Martinez
The following is the first installment in a series of stories written by the 10 talented participants in the 2024 Hofstra University Summer High School Journalism Institute, from July 22-27. In this piece, Allison Martinez, a Uniondale High School junior, profiles Andres Ortiz, of Elmont High School. All participants were asked to write short biographies on one another as an opening exercise.
Andres Ortiz found himself stuck in fourth grade having to create a project on the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when the Sons of Liberty dumped East India Company tea into Boston Harbor as a tax protest. Ortz’s teacher told him, “You write like a journalist,” and he reported on the Tea Party as if he were a news reporter covering the story. That project, Ortiz said, sparked his passion for journalism. Then the coronavirus pandemic turned this passion into a mission.
Ortiz, 15, an Elmont rising sophomore, experienced the pandemic while in fifth grade. He watched gaming videos throughout this time, yet he was unable to escape the news. He watched the news with his parents and said he noticed exaggerations in the reporting. Ortiz said he began to distrust news, not being able to tell what was accurate. He determined that he wanted to become an honest and educated journalist.
“It was at that moment when I had enough,” Ortiz said. “I decided to give myself to a cause.”
Ortiz gave himself a goal to research topics while remaining neutral. Even when he has determined that everything is opinionated and is a matter of point of view, Ortiz continues to write on both sides of a story.
“Nothing is unbiased,” Ortiz said, but he also voiced how important it is to not allow one’s biases to influence the reporting. Ortiz’s morals require that he seeks the truth.
Ortiz’s love for “deep” shows such as “Andor,” from the “Star Wars” franchise, demonstrates how he enjoys uncovering the deeper meanings of issues and conflicts. He asks questions that many would not, with each question a reason to further research a topic and discover what happened that led to the main event.
Ortiz said he wants to bring issues that are overshadowed into the light and show the good and the bad in everything. “The world isn’t black and white,” he said. “It’s filled with complicated colors.”
While Ortiz is an aspiring journalist, his passion for photography stems from his love for journaling. He enjoys capturing scenes in the world, whether it’s a gas station or friends having fun. Ortiz has volunteered on several occasions to be a photographer. One of the projects he worked on included photographing his school’s track team for a week.
Ortiz has expressed his love for journalism in several ways to pave his way into the news industry. At Elmont High, he started “Project Neo,” which introduces the world of journalism to children at several different schools, and he has worked to include Elmont High’s broadcasting club into the program.
