Oftentimes, the people making the biggest impact in their community are adults who have been in that community for a long time, have gotten to know their neighbors, and are a part of organizations to which they contribute. It’s pretty rare that we see most kids making these same kinds of strides. However, 11-year-old Arjun Atluri is not like most kids.

Arjun, a student at Polson Middle School in Madison, has been selected to join the 25th class of the Scholastic Kids Press, which selects 27 student-journalists from around the world to report “news for kids, by kids.”

Priyanka Godbole, a publicist for Scholastic Press, talks about the types of topics which kid journalists like Arjun will be covering throughout the school year.

“During the 2024-’25 school year, Arjun will interview changemakers and experts in your community and around the world about the topics that matter most to young people,” she says. “His stories will be published to the Scholastic Kids Press website and featured in select issues of Scholastic Magazines+, which reaches more than 13 million students in U.S. classrooms.”

To be selected for this program, Arjun had to submit an article to Scholastic Kids Press. He chose to write his article about excessive access to video games and the impact which screen use can have on children like him. Arjun recalls what he learned from the experience of writing the story, as well as the people who helped him through the process.

“I learned that too much screen time is really bad for kids,” he says. “It can lead to a lack of focus, as well as behavioral issues. My writing tutor helped me to make edits to my work, which helped a lot.”

Arjun refers to his writing tutor, Miss Lisa, as a main influence in his writing. She was the person who presented him with the opportunity to write something for the Scholastic Kids Press, and Arjun developed a passion for it. He saw it as a great opportunity for him and his future.

“[Miss Lisa] was the one that told me about this program,” he says. “Ever since I started writing, I developed an interest in it. I thought it could be a good opportunity for me to share my thoughts and ideas with some other kids.”

It was a huge accomplishment for Arjun—and a big relief—for him to get into the program. Arjun had put in so much time and effort into his work, and the moment when he was selected meant a lot to him.

“The day that I figured out I had been selected for the program, my emotions were very high,” he says. “I could not control my happiness that day.”

After participating in the program, Arjun plans on diving more into journalism and writing about things for which he has a passion. In addition to his concerns about screen time, Arjun is passionate about the environment, as well as the hardships and tribulations which the celebrities he looks up to have had to overcome in their lives. Arjun says these are a few of the things he would like to write about in the future.

“One of the things I want to write about is the environment and what is going on in the world,” he says. “I also want to interview famous people about their experiences and hardships, then sharing that information with the kids’ community.”

Arjun is involved with programs at Polson Middle School, including one involving robotics. Arjun will be participating in a competition for the robotics program where he and other students will have to create a robot capable of throwing a ball.

When it comes to his future, Arjun draws influence from both of his parents, especially his mother, who works as a radiologist. While he does not know much about radiology or exactly what his mom does for work just yet, Arjun wants to be like her and go into that profession when he is older, citing his mother as a big inspiration for him.

“My mom helped me with so much during the process of this program,” he says. “I want to be a radiologist when I grow up. I think it’s so fascinating that you can look at images and find out a patient's problem and help them.”