Student Spotlight: Jessica Wang and Joshua Yang, Henry M. Gunn High School

Story link: The Coronavirus pandemic: an interactive timeline

Student names: Jessica Wang and Joshua Yang

Adviser name: Kristy Blackburn

School name: Henry M. Gunn High School

Publication name: The Gunn Oracle

Describe your work on this piece: Over the course of just several weeks, our staff watched as major school events were cancelled, school itself was cancelled until early April—and ultimately, that school was cancelled for the rest of the year—in a series of rapid developments. Although we did have breaking news coverage of each announcement, we felt that due to the breakneck pace of everything that had happened, a timeline would be a good option to show everything that had happened in a single place. Additionally, due to the fact that we no longer had a physical newspaper to produce, we began experimenting with different types of online content, namely Knight Lab’s interactive multimedia features. Besides compiling text and keeping track of all developments, we also cautiously ventured outside our homes to take pictures of deserted playgrounds and school campuses. It seems that this project has been well-received by our readers; our timeline has entered the list of our top 10 most read stories, according to website analytics.