Announcing the Los Angeles Times Fellowship Class of 2025-26

The following announcement is sent on behalf of Assistant Managing Editor for Culture and Talent Angel Jennings and Deputy Editor for Culture and Talent Anh Do:

There’s new energy each time the Los Angeles Times welcomes a new class of fellows — talented, emerging journalists who are curious and committed to innovation and learning the craft.

The Los Angeles Times Fellowship continues a tradition dating to 1984, when The Times launched Metpro, a two-year program that provided training and full-time jobs to those with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. The goal then and now: to build a pipeline of journalists who can share their ideas with vigor, transforming newsrooms to better cover and reflect the multigenerational and multicultural audiences we serve.

The current one-year program begins with a month of skills training led by members of our staff, among the best in the business. Fellows will explore the diverse sections, beats and platforms anchoring the paper, along with traversing across Los Angeles in search of untold stories.

Through the decades, both the Fellowship and Metpro have launched the careers of many, shaped daily journalism and produced meaningful and award-winning work.

We’re excited to introduce you to 13 fellows who will join The Times on Monday:

Kayla Bartkowski is originally from Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2024 with a degree in photojournalism and a minor in international relations. After college, she spent the summer as a photography intern at the Boston Globe, followed by six months in Washington, D.C., where she covered politics and breaking news as an intern with Getty Images. Her work is driven by a deep interest in stories that explore the intersection of climate and the human experience. Outside of journalism, Bartkowski loves spending time outdoors — hiking, climbing and traveling — as well as hanging out with friends and playing music. She’s incredibly excited to join the Los Angeles Times as a photojournalism fellow and to collaborate with the other fellows and talented staff.

Ronaldo Bolaños is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in photography and a minor in Mexican American studies. He has served as the multimedia editor at the Shorthorn, the campus student-run newspaper, along with working as a summer fellow at the Texas Tribune. Bolaños was born and raised in Dallas and enjoys history and connecting with people from places unfamiliar to him. He’ll join The Times as a photography fellow.

Quincy Bowie Jr. is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California, where he studied journalism and documentary filmmaking. At USC, he wrote for the Daily Trojan, including the Spanish-language supplement, and led its long-form video team. In addition to his work as a journalist, Bowie has multiple documentaries currently making their rounds in festival circuits, airing on national news networks or being screened at local community events. A proud Alabama native, Bowie draws on the complex legacy of his deep Southern heritage in his coverage of community, culture and media as they intersect with race and identity. In his free time, you’ll find him exploring experimental filmmaking, photography and creative writing. He was a 2025 summer intern and is excited to continue documenting Los Angeles and uplifting the voices of those who call it home as a video fellow.

Christopher Buchanan is a recent graduate of UCLA, where he worked as a senior reporter at the Daily Bruin. As a 2025 summer intern with The Times, he stumbled around Los Angeles writing for the Fast Break desk, where he covered politics, protests and crime. Buchanan’s work has been featured in CalMatters, NBC, Politico and NPR, with radio appearances on NPR partner stations and the BBC to discuss his coverage. He has also done documentary and print work on various American subcultures, including furry ravers, psychedelic variety shows and horse race gamblers. In his free time, Buchanan can be found speaking with a costumed source in a bar or driving around L.A. listening to Van Morrison with his head out of the window. He will join the Los Angeles Times once again, this time as a reporting fellow.

Riya Chopra is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where she studied data science and public policy. After starting out in local news reporting, she worked in a variety of roles in the student newsroom, eventually serving as head of the copy desk and managing editor at the Daily Californian. She was a print editing intern at the New York Times through the Dow Jones News Fund’s multiplatform editing program in the summer of 2024. Born and raised in the Bay Area, she is looking forward to exploring Los Angeles via local cuisine and bicycle when she joins The Times as a fellow on the copy desk.

Avery Fox is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where she received a bachelor’s degree in design and minored in sociology and arts management. As a 2025 summer intern with The Times’ design desk, she created photo illustrations and designed pages across feature sections and special projects. A native Texan, Fox has previously worked with the Dallas Morning News as a summer mentee and freelance illustrator, and more recently at Texas Monthly magazine as an art intern. She is thrilled to continue her work with the Los Angeles Times as a design fellow.

June Hsu is a recent graduate of Pomona College, where she was the editor in chief of the Student Life newspaper. Hsu, who is from Kauai, Hawaii, was a CalMatters College Journalism Network fellow and news intern for Voice of America, as well as a participant in the Politico Journalism Institute in Washington, D.C. This past summer, Hsu was a multiplatform editing intern with The Times through the Dow Jones News Fund, and she is excited to continue working with the copy desk as a fellow.

Iris Kwok previously covered the environment at Berkeleyside as a Report for America corps member. She studied political science and music at UC Berkeley and got her start in journalism at the Daily Californian. A lifelong cellist, she has written about classical music for the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Classical Voice, San Francisco Examiner and KQED. She grew up in the Bay Area and the Sacramento region and is eager to eat her way through her Southern California restaurant bucket list. She’ll join The Times as a reporting fellow.

Itzel Luna is a recent graduate of Stanford University with a bachelor’s in sociology with data science and a concurrent master’s in journalism. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley and interned for The Times in 2022. Fluent in Spanish, Luna has primarily reported on social justice issues, Latino communities, immigration and education. Previously, she interned for the entertainment team at the Associated Press. Before that, she interned for the Wall Street Journal, CalMatters and KTLA. She was an active member of the Stanford Daily, having served as a reporter and executive editor. She’s excited to return to The Times as a reporting fellow.

Isabela Ocampo grew up in Medellín, Colombia, and is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied journalism. She spent the previous summer at the Financial Times, collecting data to better understand and serve its audience. She has also contributed as an audience engagement intern at the Texas Tribune, where she focused on creating a Spanish media database to reach Spanish-speaking audiences, and as an audience intern at the Austin American-Statesman, where she managed social media and reported on trending news. She’ll be a fellow with The Times’ audience and platforms team.

Gavin Quinton joins The Times as a reporting fellow after working as lead reporter for the Burbank Leader. He has told the stories behind mass evictions, financial misconduct by public officials, local ICE operations and public safety failures that triggered systemwide reforms in Burbank libraries. His byline can also be found in the Los Angeles Business Journal, LAist, KnockLA and PBS SoCal. A Charleston, S.C., native, Quinton moved to Los Angeles in 2016 and earned his journalism degree from Cal State LA. He spends his free time with friends, playing chess and tending to an unruly collection of houseplants.

Anthony Solorzano was born and raised in Pomona and now lives in Riverside. He recently released a zine called “Worst Zine Ever!” where he analyzed his hometown through the lens of “The Simpsons.” He earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Mount Saint Mary’s University and a bachelor’s degree in theater from Cal Poly Pomona. Solorzano, a former teacher, is eager to develop his journalistic career with the newspaper he read as a kid and where he will be a reporting fellow, after working as a 2025 spring intern assigned to breaking news and writing for De Los.

Hailey Wang will be a data and graphics fellow at the Los Angeles Times. She was born and raised in Taiwan and earned her master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Before graduate school, she worked as a reporter for a financial magazine in Taiwan for three years, earning two reporting awards. Her beats included business, politics, climate change and culture. She has interned with the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News and Lookout Santa Cruz. Wang is passionate about uncovering hidden narratives in data sets, especially those tied to underrepresented communities. When she’s not in front of her laptop, you can find her at a local coffee shop or catching the latest film.