Teen Korean Immigrant's Web Site Gets High School "Pulitzer" Award

Sang Byum ("Robin") Kim, 17, is the sole founder, Web designer, online producer and a contributing writer for wspnlive.com, the student Web site for Wayland High School in Massachusetts, where he is a sophomore.

Wspnlive.com, or Wayland Student Press Network, recently won the National Scholastic Press Association's 2008 Pacemaker Award - often called a "Pulitzer Prize" for high schools in the United States - which the Boston Globe reported on.

Two other Web sites are part of wspnlive com and also managed by Kim: wspnondiet.com, which has articles and graphics, and wspn.tv, which has videos.

Kim immigrated to the U.S. - alone - four years ago from Korea. At the age of 14, he attended a boarding school in Western Massachusetts before moving to Wayland, under the legal guardianship of a host family.

EthnicNewz.org chatted with Robin Kim by phone on May 1, 2008, the one-year anniversary of wspnlive.com.

Following is the condensed and edited interview.

What gave you the idea to start to wspnlive.com?

I used to make (hard copy) portfolios, year books and school newspapers.

About a year ago, I realized that the trend is moving towards online (media). I knew that in the future, online media are going to dominate the entire publishing industry.

When I transferred to Wayland as a freshman, I saw a big gap in student communication. There was a student newspaper that gets published about four times a year - inconsistently - and it's like a four-page newsletter.

 

What did you have in mind for the student Web site to do?

I thought of a place where people can write comments, share videos, report stories and post pictures, ideas and perspectives, where teachers and students can see what's going on.

 

How much did you know about Web design prior to the launch of wspnlive?

About a year ago, I didn't know anything about Web. I only knew how to design hard-copy materials, mainly through Photoshop and some InDesign.

 

You knew nothing about Web design? The site looks like a professional media outlet.

I had the background skills through Photoshop and other graphic design tools.

I'm really passionate about online publishing, online media, and the general power of the Internet. I just continued to research how to do this and that for making Web sites.

It took me a lot of hours to come to this point.

 

Since the site won the Pacemaker Award, have you been a bit of a celebrity at school?

Actually I was treated like a celebrity for two or three days. People were very encouraging and celebrated me a lot.

People cut out the article from the Boston Globe. They enlarged it and put it on walls and doors. They congratulated me whenever they saw me.

 

The Web site is actually three different ones. Why'd you add wspnondiet and wspn.tv?

I made three Web sites because each one has its own purpose. Wspnlive.com serves as our main Web site, for all the articles and photos, even podcasts.

When we started producing a lot of videos, we needed a separate database. That's when I made wspn.tv, which serves as our video database. People can directly comment on each video, too.

The reason why I made wspnondiet.com is because our school Internet (at the time) was very slow. It wasn't able to handle the graphics-heavy wspnlive.com Web site or of wspn.tv.

I designed a 100% HTML no-graphics site that would indicate what updates have been made to wspn sites.

Later, the school's Internet improved, so now we put some graphics.

 

Wspn.tv has a lot of videos. Who produces all the video and other content for the three sites? And who decides what gets posted?

First of all, 100 percent of the content is student-produced. Adults are not involved in the videotaping process, editing process or the final uploading process. Adults are not involved at all.

At this moment, all the videos are edited by me. I use Final Cut Express (a video editing software) by Apple, and On Flix Standard for video encoding. But I'm doing all the edits.

Occasionally students can take the video camera and tape events.

 

 

How is it going with getting students to help you with video editing or any of the work for the three sites?

Not many students at the school know how to edit videos, so my future plans are to have media workshops, lead by me.

Currently, no students are involved in the editing process. We recently gained many students who got involved in the broadcasting portion. They hold the microphones and they speak in the videos.

 

Wspnondiet.com looks like it could be a Web site for an actual newspaper.

Any major newspaper Web site has this (or similar) layout.

I'm not a big fan of newspaper layout because, first of all, it's hard to know what information has been updated.

Younger generations are more familiar with the blog style. Our main Web site, wspnlive.com, has the blog style.

The wspnondiet Web site has the effect of more legitimacy.

 

WEB SITE ADVICE AND FUTURE CAREER

What are your tips for what makes a good Web site?

First and foremost, the Web site should be fast. If it takes a long time to load, that's not good because it ruins the whole visiting-the-Web-site feeling.

It must be clean. Too much information at once is just too much for people to take in.

Margins on the sides are important, too, for (varying) screen resolution.

Especially for news Web sites, emphasize what's new.

So, for example, the image related to the newest article might be bigger, the font for the title might be larger. The newer stuff should be more prominent.

The graphics should be optimized for Web. This significantly increases speed and makes the whole Web-site visit pleasant.

 

What kind of career do you want to have 10 or so years from now?

I want to be an entrepreneur, starting up a company that relates to social networking or digital media, online news, any Internet-related business.

 

We might see you on the cover of Fortune or Forbes.

I hope so.

 

What's next in the Robin Kim pipeline for the future?

I want to learn more computer programming - languages like C++ and Java - and programming technology like ASP.NET and AJAX.

 

What takes up more of your day: sleep, school or Web sites?

Web sites.

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Your English skills are great, as your articles on WSPN show. Have you been studying English since you were a little boy?

Well, since third grade, my mom recommended that I write daily journals in English. I wrote small, very-elementary-level journals on a daily basis.

Later, I would use graphic design programs to make portfolios (of the English journals). That was when I started to (improve) my English-writing skills.

But (now) I read the New York Times every day, and I try to mimic what has been written by professional writers. I've never taken a journalism course before, and there isn't a journalism class at my school.

 

Did you grow up around computers or cameras or journalism in your early childhood?

Yes. I grew up with computers. Since the third grade, I just started clicking this and that, and I started to teach myself about computers.

I started off with Microsoft Paint software. Then, I moved on to Paint Shop Pro (by Corel) and Photoshop and different programs.

 

Your own Web page, RobinKim.com, shows a painting by you. In another photo, you're playing the violin. Do you have some hidden talents?

This is my twelfth year playing the violin. I play in the New England Conservatory Youth Symphony, in the first violin section. I'm passionate about music in general.

 

And what about painting? Are you an artist in addition to being a violinist?

Well, I'm more of a graphic artist, but through computer graphics, I think I gained skill in matching colors.

Once in a while, just as a hobby, I pick up paintbrushes and create paintings.

 

Are you familiar with the term "Renaissance man"?

Yes, a well-rounded man. (laughter)

 

Are you a Renaissance man?

I hope to be, and I constantly work towards being that person.

 

PARENTS AND EARLY YEARS IN AMERICA

What do your parents think about your "addiction" to Web sites?

My parents can be worried at times, but when they hear good news from the school, from the newspaper and recently the Pacemaker Award, they see the meaning behind this effort and time that I put into it.

It kind of pays back, but it's also hard to balance all the commitments and work that I'm involved with.

 

What was it like for you and your family as new immigrants to the U.S. when you first arrived?

My dad still lives in Korea. My mom came to the United States this year. A year ago, I was at a home stay (under the guardianship of relatives).

My first two years here, I was in a boarding school in Western Massachusetts.

 

Was it hard to transition into life in America, as a middle-school student in a boarding school in rural Western Massachusetts?

I went to a few summer schools (in the United States), for one month each time, before I went to that boarding school, so I was familiar with American culture.

I think I'm a person who gets used to different environments pretty quickly.

Learn more about Robin Kim's talents and life at wspnlive.com/index.php/my-reflection.

Source: EthnicNewz.org

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the news source. Contact Newz for more information.

 

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