× Expand Photo: Courtesy of Sara Does (Lucia's mom) Scholastic-Lucia-Dong-ukulele

A 10-year-old from O’ahu has been selected from a pool of thousands of children worldwide to be one of 50 Scholastic Kid Reporters.

Lucia Dong—a fifth grader at Kamiloiki Elementary School—will write online stories for Scholastic Kids Press during the 2019-2020 school year and will appear in Scholastic Classroom Magazines, distributed weekly to 25 million students.

Lucia has diverse interests. She wants to be a geologist when she grows up “because she loves rocks." In addition to playing ʻukulele, the soundtracks from musicals Hamilton and Wicked are among her favorite tunes. Lucia also is Student Council president of her school!

HONOLULU Family recently spoke with Lucia about her latest, newest adventure. Here’s her story:

Congratulations, Lucia! As a Scholastic Kid Reporter, what are your roles?

My responsibilities over the next year will be to write stories about my community for Scholastic Kids Press. I can pitch my own story ideas and sometimes my editor may assign a story to me. I hope I will have an opportunity to team up with other Kid Reporters from around the globe. It would be a lot of fun if I did!

× Expand Photo: Courtesy of Scholastic Scholastic Classroom Magazines

What stories and issues do you plan to cover?

I’m interested in a wide variety of topics, such as geology, animal habitat loss and local and national news. People who interest me include author Grace Lin, Sen. Mazie Hirono and Lin-Manuel Miranda. In my reporting, I want to focus on people, organizations, and issues specific to Hawaiʻi.

What about Hawaiʻi interests you the most?

I’m interested in Mauna Kea protests, the Hōkuleʻa, and native species. I hope my stories can help kids around the world learn about life on Oʻahu.

Tell us about school. What subjects do you like, and what clubs are you in?

My favorite subjects are English Language Arts, math and science. I’m student council president and a member of the Kokua Club (library helper). I also play the flute in the school band. Outside school, I play the ʻukulele and take ceramics classes at the Honolulu Museum of Art School. At home, I like to swim, read, and play.

What would you like to tell the keiki readers of HONOLULU Family?

You can do or be anything, as long as you work hard.