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The Star Reporter scoop

By Nina Teichman, age 16 | September 27, 2024

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NEWS FLASH Nina Teichman, a junior at The Emery/Weiner School, was reluctant at first to be a star reporter at the JCC Maccabi Games, but soon became enthusiastic about the opportunity to work on her journalism skills and make new friends.

I haven’t played a sport in years; I prefer to dance or perform in shows at school. So, as you can imagine, I was not thrilled when my mom signed me up to participate in the 2024 Jewish Community Center Maccabi Games. I was eager to spend the last weeks of summer reading plays in my room and shopping with friends.

But after an exciting night at Opening Ceremonies followed by an early wake-up call the next morning, I arrived at the JCC and made my way to the dance studio, a room I have spent countless hours in preparing for shows. This time, though, I was there to be a star reporter, the teen journalists of the Games. None of my close friends were star reporters, but I saw some familiar faces. Our coach Guy Cohen, a native Hebrew speaker, started our session by sharing personal stories about how he would forget words in English – we couldn’t stop laughing. Things were looking up!

Later that day, I was assigned to walk around capturing and creating content with Lola, a star reporter from Montreal. She and I became fast friends, bonding over our love of Raising Cane’s and editing videos. We got to know each other even better in the days that followed.

With sporting competitions around Houston, Lola and I ventured to Rice University one day to create content for the @houmaccabi Instagram page. Interviewing athletes and spectators, taking videos, and creating content was so much fun. As a teenager, social media is a regular part of my daily life, but this was a unique opportunity to apply these skills while learning new aspects of journalism and focusing on specific audiences. Lola and I spent the rest of the week as a reporting team, capturing unique stories together at sports games, social events, and more. We strengthened our friendship and our understanding of journalism at the same time.

While I was reluctant at first, I gained more from Maccabi than I ever imagined. I made strong friendships with Jewish teens from Montreal, New York, and all over the world. I didn’t expect to have so much fun and gain skills, much less make lifelong friends. Maccabi surprised me in the best way, and I can’t wait to participate again.

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