Teen Journalism Institute: Luke Blue's interests expand beyond animation
Jun. 30—Luke Blue's distinctive work already has an extensive reach beyond Spokane.
The 17-year-old Mt. Spokane High School senior has amassed over 125,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel @GoTube, where he writes, constructs, and creates children's animation videos. He said it's exciting that something he started when he was about 6 years old has lasted so long, even if his interests have evolved.
His new interests are deeply rooted in politics and law — so much so that he entered the 2023 U.S. Ninth Circuit Court District of Appeal's High School Civics Contest and won. In his video submission, in which participants were asked to propose a 28th amendment to the US Constitution, Blue presented his plan for a campaign finance reform to limit the amount of "soft money" a candidate can use to indirectly fund their campaign.
"I'm passionate about wealth inequality and labor issues," he said.
Though Blue doesn't know what his future will look like, he knows he wants to pursue a career in politics.
"Who doesn't want to be president, though?" he joked. "But that's more of a 4D dream."
Outside of politics, Blue enjoys learning about photography, debate and even history. His favorite book of all time is President Teddy Roosevelt's biography. To Blue, Roosevelt's dedication, resilience and impact on the country is something to be admired, and perhaps one day even replicated.
Q: What's your favorite song?
A: "Amerika," by Rammstein.
Isabelle Parekh's reporting is part of the Teen Journalism Institute, funded by Bank of America with support from the Innovia Foundation.
