Jonathan Asher Gainer, 14
School: Home-schooled junior.
In Y-Press: One year.
Interests: Politics, economics, international relations.
Career goal: President of the United States, CEO of a company.
Why he wanted to be on the team: "To help tell a magnificent story that has yet to be told, and to gain a greater understanding of the world in which I live."
Zoe Hayes, 18
School: Lebanon High School senior.
In Y-Press: Four years.
Interests: Reading, writing, French, jewelry-making.
Career goal: Civil engineer.
Why she wanted to be on the team: "This is an amazing opportunity to learn about a completely different culture firsthand."
Keisha Mitchell, 18
School: Broad Ripple High School senior.
In Y-Press: Six years.
Interests: Journalism, music, shopping.
Career goal: Editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, CNN's culture correspondent.
Why she wanted to be on the team: "After interviewing Ball State University Professor Pierre Atchade, a native of Benin, I was inspired to go to the country and bring back both positive and interesting stories of Beninese youths to readers."
Jessika Officer, 14
School: Lawrence Early College High School for Science and Technologies freshman.
In Y-Press: 31/2 years.
Interests: Writing, reading, running, tennis, travel.
Career goal: Journalist or attorney.
Why she wanted to be on the team: "Granddaddy gave me a book about a young girl who had gone to West Africa. It said the girl was 7 years old when she first went to Africa. At the time, I was 7 years old, too. I didn't know how, but right then, I knew I was going to West Africa some day."
Elisabeth Randall, 17
School: Cathedral High School senior.
In Y-Press: Four years.
Interests: Thespians, choir, St. Monica Church youth group.
Career goal: Sociology professor.
Why she wanted to be on the team: "To find out more about Benin and its climate of change, and to help youth voices be heard."
Chris Reissaus, 17
School: Carmel High School senior.
In Y-Press: 71/2 years.
Interests: Soccer, basketball, mountain biking, soccer-field maintenance, hanging with friends, complaining to parents, whining about homework.
Career goal: Geneticist.
Why he wanted to be on the team: "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Africa and talk to youth in a developing country."
Chaperones
Three adults with extensive international experience are accompanying the Y-Press Benin team:
Lynn Sygiel, bureau director of Y-Press. She is a former teacher and also worked for The Salem (Mass.) Evening News, which later merged with other papers. In 1990, she opened a Children's Express Bureau in Indianapolis. In 1999, Children's Express was renamed Y-Press and became an independent news bureau with operations at The Children's Museum. In 2004, Y-Press left the museum and became an independent nonprofit organization, with headquarters in The Indianapolis Star building at 307 N. Pennsylvania St. This is Sygiel's seventh international trip with youth journalists. Among those reporting destinations were Brazil, Kuwait, Russia and Hong Kong.
Samuel Cargile, senior director of grant making for Lumina Foundation for Education. He has worked in many nonprofit, university and government leadership positions, including in South Africa as a consultant for a Swedish firm, setting up a community college system; as a program director for Lilly Endowment, and as a policy analyst in the U.S. Department of Education. A private pilot, Cargile has a doctorate in educational psychology and served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, receiving a Bronze Star.
Danese Kenon, Indianapolis Star photographer. She will take some pictures and also advise the team on photography. She has a bachelor's degree in English from Virginia State University and a master's degree in photography from Syracuse University. Her first camera was a blue-and-yellow Fisher Price model when she was just 7 years old. Kenon has been with The Star since January. She loves salsa dancing and has traveled previously to the Bahamas, Cuba and Ghana. To see a selection of her photographs, visit www.danesekenon.com.