John Fabella

Video produced by Anita Wright/Student Reporting Labs. B-roll from videos produced by John Fabella and SRL Connected Educator Jennifer Suzuki.

John Fabella, a freshman at Maui High School, is not just a friendly face to the community at Maui Waena Intermediate School. As a former attendee of the middle school, he is also considered a big brother to many.

This is because John is in the unique situation of getting to work at two Reporting Labs. After attending middle school at Maui Waena Intermediate and participating in their SRL program, he went on to continue producing videos at Maui High School. But not only is he an active youth journalist at Maui High, he still works alongside Jennifer Suzuki at Maui Waena Intermediate providing support as a SRL mentor to his former peers.

When asked why he decided to become a mentor, he says he knows as a fellow student that it’s sometimes scary to ask teachers questions. He believes that serving as a mentor, while being a peer allows students to be comfortable enough to ask questions that they wouldn’t normally ask.

So far, John’s biggest takeaway from the SRL program is meeting people from diverse backgrounds who share the same passion for journalism as he does. Right now, he’s enjoying giving back to the community by sharing his love for media and watching his friends benefit from the SRL program the same way that he did.