Overview:

Planet Detroit honors Anaya "Kaz" Lugo-Thomas by sponsoring a student journalist for the 2026 Student Journalism Camp, fostering young voices in metro Detroit. The camp equips high schoolers with skills in reporting, interviewing, and multimedia storytelling, reflecting Kaz's passion for creativity and justice. Applications are open until May 1, 2026, with limited spots for 25 students.

Planet Detroit will sponsor one student journalist to attend the Detroit Writing Room’s 2026 Student Journalism Camp in honor of Anaya “Kaz” Lugo-Thomas. Anaya, the youngest child of Planet Detroit advisory board member and former reporting fellow Angela Lugo-Thomas, passed away in January 2025 at the age of 16.

The Detroit Writing Room is offering sponsorships at $600 per student from media outlets and educational organizations to support a cohort of 20 students in 2026. 

The camp provides hands-on training in reporting, interviewing, ethics, photography, and multimedia storytelling for high school students across metro Detroit. Planet Detroit is proud to republish the pieces on our website; you can view the students’ work from 2025 here.

Planet Detroit’s sponsorship recognizes Anaya’s creativity, curiosity, and commitment to justice. A 2025 senior at The School at Marygrove, Anaya, who went by Kaz in school, was a standout student, artist, robotics team member, and passionate advocate for social and environmental issues. Kaz embraced learning, asked big questions, and envisioned using engineering and design to help others. 

Kaz was a gifted artist who participated in the Mint Artist Guild youth summer program in 2022 and was going to be a Mint Artist Guild fellow before graduating in 2025. Writing was another strength, and a few of Kaz’s high school pieces have been published.

We are honored to support a young journalist in Anaya’s name and to help carry forward the spirit of curiosity, creativity, and courage that Kaz shared with the world.

For more information about the 2026 Student Journalism Camp or sponsorship opportunities, visit Detroit Writing Room. Students can apply for the camp here. The application deadline is May 1, 2026. Admission is rolling, and space is limited to 25 students.

Read stories from the 2025 Detroit Writing Room Summer Journalism Camp

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Avatar photo by Detroit Writing Room

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Nina Misuraca Ignaczak is an award-winning Metro Detroit-based editor, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. She is the founder, publisher, and editor of Planet Detroit, a digital media startup focused on producing quality climate, health, and environment journalism that holds power accountable, and spotlights solutions. Planet Detroit has received awards and recognition from the Society for Professional Journalists Detroit, the Institute for Nonprofit News, and LION Publishers since its establishment in 2019. Prior to her journalism career, Nina worked in urban planning in local government and nonprofit sectors, holding a Master of Science in Natural Resource Ecology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.