A New Semester at the Flame Begins
February 9, 2023
A new Spring Semester dawns at Allen Community College and The Allen Flame reporters begin their writing journey. This excellent reporting team has some returning stars and some fresh faces joining them. Before this intrepid crews’ stories hit start to The Allen Flame Website, let’s review and introduce this semester’s team.
Returning Reporters
Jailynn Goforth – Student Reporter/Co-editor
Jailynn Goforth is a sophomore at Allen County and a graduate from Humboldt High School. Jailynn came to Allen on a journalism scholarship and plans to major in Graphic Design and graduate with her Associates in Arts. This will be Goforths 2nd year with the Allen Flame.
In Jailynn’s free time she likes to do nails for herself and others, along with writing fictional short stories and listening to every kind of music. Jailynn supports Allen not only by writing for the Flame but also Cheering on our teams as a cheerleader.
Sarah Navidad – Student Reporter
Sarah Navidad is a Sophomore at Allen community college, and she is from Kansas City Kansas. Sarah is a high school graduate from Turner High School class of 2021. Sarah is a business major, and she played soccer for the women’s soccer team as a right wing.
Sarah joined the Allen Flame for the Journalism scholarship and ended up liking it. In her time with the Flame, she learned how to write stories and become creative.
Sarah loves to spend time with her family and friends and enjoys watching shows and movies. Sarah also loves traveling and is passionate about trying new things and experiencing new places. In five years time, Sarah sees herself owning a luxurious business and being her own boss.
Sondra Owings-Priest – Student Reporter
Sondra Priest is a freshman at Allen County Community College and first-year member of the Allen Flame. Sondra came to Allen on a Dance scholarship and has been dancing since she was four years old.
Sondra graduated from Royal Valley High School and decided to go to Allen because when she visited the campus she instantly fell in love with the social atmosphere.
In her free time Sondra enjoys shopping, napping, and thrifting. In her future she wants to be a nurse for mental health; before she settles down Sondra would love to travel while working.
Hope Kamanga – Student Reporter
Hope Kamanga is a Freshman at Allen Community College and a graduate from Flint Hills Christian School.
Hope came to Allen on a Track and Field scholarship, and she is majoring in nursing and plans to transfer to a university so she can pursue her passion for helping people.
This is Hope’s first year joining the Flame and she hopes to develop her skills on writing and communicating with people. She is passionate about diving into different cultures and seeing different perspectives around her community.
Hope is goal driven and loves to challenge herself to become a better learner and take on new projects to help her develop new skills.
Zoie Baker – Student Reporter
Zoie Baker is a sophomore at Allen planning to major in History. Baker graduated from Fredonia High School and joined the Allen Flame because she wanted to gain more writing experience. After Allen, Baker plans to attend Washburn University to continue her education, her future goal is to become a history professor.
Baker’s interest in history blossomed when she went to a WWII museum with her grandma, a fire was lit inside of Zoie and she had found her passion. Along with studying history, in her free time Baker likes to read and go for walks. One of her favorite books is Pride and Prejudice which she has read more than ten times.
Being a member of the Allen Flame allows Zoie to pursue her passions by teaching her how to write, especially about subjects she feels strongly about.
New Additions
Bret Hawkesworth – Student Reporter
Bret Hawkesworth is a sophomore at Allen Community College and this is his first year as a member of the Allen Flame. Bret grew up in Burlington, Kansas, and graduated from Burlington High School. Bret is a communication major and loves working with people.
Bret joined the Allen Flame because he enjoys writing and wants to improve his communication skills. Bret is undecided after Allen but wants to continue to be surrounded by people and continue working. In his spare time, Bret likes to cook and his favorite dish to make is chicken gnocchi soup.
Andres Garcia – Student Reporter
Andres Espinel is from Colombia and a sophomore at Allen Community College. Andres came to Allen after receiving an offer from the soccer coaches to come to play and study here in Kansas. Currently, Andres is majoring in Communications and plans to transfer to a university to continue playing soccer and finish studying Communication.
Andres is taking Communications to develop himself professionally in the field of internal and external communications for companies. Andres joined the Allen flame to be introduced to the field of journalism, which will further his career in Communications. As an international student, Andres brings a different point of view to The Flame.
These fine student reporters will begin producing content for the Flame as early as this weekend. Keep a lookout for their stories as they explore various topics of student news, local affairs, college happenings, opinion pieces, and the return of satire.