Our Mentors
Using a developed curriculum, the Young Journalists Mentors help grow writers, and through their writing help grow readers. It emphasizes reading to support writing and writing to support reading. Reading, be it through research or absorbing other journalist’s writings, and each other’s writings, supports further writing.
The Young Journalist helps students prepare for both FSA Reading and Writing Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) English Language Arts (ELA) Reading and Writing Assessments. Additionally, The Young Journalist prepares students for The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) system administered three times per year tracking out student's progress in learning the Benchmarks of Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards throughout this school year. Our goal is to help students graduate from reading at grade level to proficient or master.
Bonnie Bramwell
Bonnie Bramwell is a senior at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL. She graduated from Indian River Charter High School and currently lives in Vero Beach. Her major is Strategic Communications, with a minor in literature. She is a columnist and the social media manager for The Crimson- Florida Tech’s student-run newspaper. She is also President of Lambda Pi Eta, Florida Tech’s National Communication Association’s official honor society. Once she graduates, she aspires to become a Science or English teacher.
Caroline Jakubik
Caroline graduated from Villanova University in 2024 with a B.A. in History. She is passionate about working with children, having previously interned and worked with the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. Caroline has loved reading and writing from a young age and is currently pursuing a degree in Nursing.
Thomas Hardy
B. S. Government, Nasson College. Publisher, Vero Communiqué. Software systems owner (now retired). Founder, The Young Journalist. Memberships: National Press Club, Columbia Journalism Review, Society of Professional Journalists, LIONS (Local Independent News Society) and Pulitzer Center K – 12. Children’s book author, “The Exclusive Life of Reba K. Williams, a Parakeet.”
Sean Lowery
Sean Lowery joined The Young Journalist as a mentor for the 2022-2023 academic year. A graduate of the University of Kansas, he is currently a bilingual teacher with Elevate K-12. Elevate K-12 expands access to live education across the country, making sure that access to a certified teacher can be a reality for every student, no matter where they live or what their circumstance. Previously, for four years Sean taught ESL to children in China. ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers specialize in helping non-native speakers of all ages and levels learn the formal grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation of spoken and written English, while giving them confidence in the common usage of the language in order to communicate clearly and comfortably with native English speakers.
Gabrielle Allemeier
Gabby’s travels around the world began with her love of reading. As a child, fantasy worlds such as Narnia and Middle Earth captured her imagination. The book that set off an obsession to see Scandinavia was Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, which relates the life of the fictional title character as she ages from childhood to adulthood in medieval Norway. Not only has Gabby traveled to Norway, but she has visited over thirty countries on five continents. She hopes that she can inspire youths in Indian River County to also discover adventures in reading, and to make those adventures a reality.