Meet Natalie Mulford, clay’s International News reporter for the 2022-2023 school year. Natalie is 15 years old and going into her sophomore year. She moved overseas when she was six months old and has lived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the past 5 years, but she has also lived in Tanzania and the DRC. She has three younger sisters, two of which are twins adopted from Congo. Her family also has a giant dog named Obi, a South African mastiff. This will be her 5th year at TPS, and maybe her last, depending if there is a high school where her family moves next.
When asked about her hobbies, she listed reading, writing, hiking, running, swimming, drawing, crocheting, running a newspaper, gymnastics, sewing, and many other things. Natalie decided to join clay because she thought it would be a cool way to contribute to TPS, meet new people, and learn how to be a columnist. While this is Natalie’s first year with clay, this is not her first time in journalism. Natalie runs a newspaper on her own and she has been for the last two years. She sends it out to an average of 50 people and is currently on her 38th issue.
Natalie is also a big reader. When asked which book is her favorite, she said it was too hard to choose. Some of her favorites include Wingfeather Saga, Nevermoor, Ruta Sepetys’s books, Skyward, and so many more. She loves to read and will read basically anything although fantasy and sci-fi are her fav genres. After serious thinking, Natalie said that if she could live in any fantasy world from one of her favorite book series she said either Nevermoor or Bark of the Bog Owl but there are so many other worlds that she would also choose from. Natalie’s favorite food is Ethiopian food, and her favorite place to be is either in her room in Addis, hiking a mountain, or on the beach/in the ocean. She loves anything outdoors –she even built a tree house with her dad last year and went on a 9-day backpacking trip this summer in the Adirondacks.
Finally, when asked what she would tell her younger self if she could go back in time, she said, “To trust in God that He has everything in His hands.” Her favorite Bible verse is either Psalms 139:14, ”You are fearfully and wonderfully made…” or Romans 8:38-39, ”for neither death nor life…” She says it reminds her of how nothing on this Earth can ever get between God’s love for us. And that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what happens.
Keep a lookout for Natalie’s articles this year! They are sure to be interesting and insightful.