Karena Phan

Karena Phan is an Editorial Assistant at Time for Kids. Before joining TFK, she was an intern at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington, DC. Karena grew up in Sacramento, California, and graduated from the University of California, Irvine, in 2018 with a bachelor's in literary journalism and a minor in digital information systems. In college she was one of the first news interns at her campus radio station news program, KUCI News, where she found her passion working in a newsroom. She is excited about helping bring media literacy into the classroom and contributing her skills to the TIME for Kids team. In her free time she loves to rock climb, read comic books, and explore new food places.

Latest Stories

Time Off

Feeling Invisible

July 26, 2019

Willa Grover likes to read, likes routines, loves dogs, hates slimy food. She has a wonderful best friend, Ruby, who’s in her class at school. But in Not If I Can Help It, Willa’s life is turned upside down when…

United States

Southern Storm

July 15, 2019

A storm struck the southern United States this weekend. It brought heavy rain, which led to flooding in parts of Louisiana. Communities there had expected a hurricane. But the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm once it hit land…

United States

California Quakes

July 9, 2019

Two major earthquakes hit Southern California last week. The first struck on July 4, near the Mojave Desert. Its magnitude was 6.4. There were small tremors afterward, called aftershocks. On July 5, the second earthquake hit. With a magnitude of…

World

A Presidential First in North Korea

July 1, 2019

On June 30, President Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea. There, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The historic visit began in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South…

Time Off

Sisters, Spells, and Strikes

June 28, 2019

Stacy and Gina don’t get along. They’re rivals on the baseball field. Gina is the star player on an all-star team. Stacy is on the underdog team, which hasn’t won a game all season. The girls also can’t stand each…

World

U.S. to the Quarterfinals

June 25, 2019

Team U.S.A. is heading to the quarterfinals in the Women’s World Cup. The U.S. beat Spain 2–1 on Tuesday in one of the soccer tournament’s knockout rounds. (In a knockout-round game, the losing team is removed from the tournament.) It…

Time Off

The Pets are Back

June 7, 2019

Your favorite furry friends are back, in The Secret Life of Pets 2. In this sequel, a fearful Jack Russell terrier named Max and his family leave their home in the city to visit a farm. There, Max learns to…

Business

The Price of Pollution

June 4, 2019

A federal court in Miami, Florida, has ordered Carnival Corporation to pay a $20 million penalty. Years ago, the cruise ship company was ordered to stop polluting the ocean. The court says the company has continued to do so. In…

Technology

Back to the Moon

May 22, 2019

NASA is on a mission to put the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024. On May 16, the space agency took the latest step in that process. It announced the 11 companies selected to help…

Time Off

On a Mission

May 17, 2019

Middle school is difficult already for Jesse Broadview. Her mom is in Iraq with the military, and Jesse doesn’t have many friends. But her life gets even more complicated when someone steals money from the school library. Jesse’s dad, the…