About Joi Officer

Age: 14

Stories by Joi

	Young scientists tell what drives them By Joi Officer, 12, Laura Mangan, 12, , There were hundreds of gawkers and exhibits from all over the world. But nothing made the Intel Science and Engineering Fair last month feel more like a zoo than the signs: "Please do not poke, tease, or feed the science nerds."
	Who We Are By Joi Officer, 12 Before signing a record deal with Virgin Records, Hope Partlow was an typical farm girl growing up north of Memphis, Tenn. Partlow went to a public school, and did chores around her 100-acre farm. She started singing gospel and country songs with her father at the age of 5. And she received her first record deal when she was 14 years old. Now at 18, she has traveled the country performing music from “Who We Are,” her finely-written pop album.
	Key Club spreads cheer to children By Izaak Hayes, 16, Joi Officer, 12 W hen a Wal-Mart cashier was little and facing a bleak Christmas, she was thrilled to receive presents from a "secret" Santa, and the memory still makes her happy. She told Ben Davis High School students that story as they purchased presents for low-income children in their community, helping them see firsthand how their generosity and goodwill lives on, even after the holidays. For the past nine
	A different perspective By Rebecca Salois, 17, Joi Officer, 12 When he was a kid, Brad Williams got fed up with people who gawked at him because he was a dwarf. But his dad made sure he didn't gripe about it. "He told me, 'Listen: You have this condition,' " Williams recalled. " 'People are going to stare at you your whole life. You have two choices: A: You can cry about it, get sad about it and feel sorry for yourself; or B: You can use it to educate others
	Web site gives girls taste of success By Danielle Wolowec, 17, Ember Dennison, 15, Joi Officer, 13 Sisters Isabella and Olivia don't let their parents do all the cooking. They have their own Web site full of cool recipe ideas for kids and adults.
	Many date outside their race By Joi Officer, 14, Warren Stokes, 17, Olivia Haynes, 17 Several Indianapolis teens – be they Indian, black, Latino or white – said they would consider marrying outside of their race, now that they have been part of the interracial dating scene. Raymond Jami, who is black, and Rocio Mendez, who is Latina, have been dating for more than three years.
	What a Texas sociologist found By Joi Officer, 14, Warren Stokes, 17, Olivia Haynes, 17 George Yancey, an associate professor of sociology at the University of North Texas, studies interracial dating and marriage. He shared some of his findings with Y-Press.