Live Sports Leadership
This year is the first time our school has live broadcast sporting events. We knew absolutely nothing going into it. From the start, I helped to make our plan and talk through it with each of the members from the original team. I drew up on the whiteboard where each of the cameras was going to be positioned and what each one of them was going to do. I created hand signals to go back and forth with the commentators to let them know when they needed to cut to a halftime package, go through the credits, and wrap up the show. I learned how to set up the switcher board for the first time. During the games where I was the director, I described to each camera operator the shot they had along with the shots that everybody else had. This allowed everyone to adjust and have no redundancy in the angles. Our crew has since rotated every week. I have helped to work with the new members to explain what we already learned and train them to be who we need. After every broadcast, I reach out to the crew to open up discussion as to what to change and keep the same for the next week. I have helped make labels and am working on a how-to video, so I can teach others how to set up the board without me around.
Line Editing
The night before an episode of EVTV would come out, I would stay and be the last one left to make sure everything went well. Because I was often the only one in the room when all the packages got finished, I ended up line editing many episodes.
JDay Presentation
Last year at the Colorado High School Journalism day at CSU, my advisor was set to speak about podcasts. She got sick the night before preventing her from going. Rather than cancelling the presentation, she turned to me knowing I could give a good presentation. The next day, I presented for her in front of over a hundred students from across the state.
Copy Editing
I have edited many of my peers' work through my journalism career. Many of the students we recruited into our after school club had never even taken an introduction to journalism class. I helped teach many of my peers learn how to write in journalistic style and incorporate many different sources. Below is an article by a fellow student. This was the first article she ever wrote for our program. I gave her feedback to improve it to a publishable quality.
Article before editing
Nordic Skiing is a combination of alpine skiing and running where skiers strap cross country skis onto their feet and and use their leg and arm muscles to propel them across the snow using poles. The two types of Nordic Skiing are Skate and Classic. Skate skiing is very similar to ice skating, but on skis. In Skate skiing, the skier points their skies outward and then pushes off on one ski and then glides to the other one. While in classic skiing, one ski is pushed in front of the other in a motion similar to running. During practice, they will do hill training, interval training, distance training, speed training, technique training, and, according to Aiden Duffy, “send it.” They also focus on what type of skiing the next race will be during practice. They usually have races about every week and “they are hard; just pain all the way, but races are usually a 5k and we can go anywhere from Steamboat to Durango,” Aidan Duffy says. “And during them, I just feel pain, but when I’m done I feel accomplished and proud of myself and my teammates. According to another Nordic Skier, Jack Bradbury, there are three types of Nordic races, mass starts, wave starts, individual starts. In mass starts, everyone starts at once and usually “end up tripping over each other or stabbing someone with their poles.” In wave starts, they will send people off in wave of 3, 5, etc. In individual starts, they send people off one by one and then record how long it takes them to complete the course. Aidan Duffy states that he enjoys Nordic because “I get to hang out with my friends, stay in shape and ski outside,” while Chemistry teacher Mr. Steiner, who is helping out the Nordic team, states that, “Its challenging, fun, and one of the most aerobic things that you can do.” He also says that you should join Nordic to “diversify your skill sets and knowledge.” Nordic can also positively impact your life and teach you valuable life lessons. Aidan Duffy says that Nordic “teaches you perseverance and determination and motivation, which you need to use a lot of in Nordic skiing, and I use for homework and school work.” Mr. Steiner says that it teaches you “perseverance, grit, being able to follow through with a goal the isn’t really easily meant and to have the grit and determination to get there and just anything that most business owner and employer would be looking for.” According to Aidan Duffy, you should join Nordic Skiing over Alpine skiing because “ The people are way nicer on Nordic, we’re faster, we’re in better shape, and we send it more than they do.”
Article after editing
Nordic skiing is a combination of alpine skiing and running where skiers strap cross country skis onto their feet and use their leg and arm muscles to propel them across the snow using poles. There are two types of nordic skiing, skate and classic. In Skate skiing, the skier points their skies outward and then pushes off on one ski and then glides to the other one. In classic skiing, one ski is pushed in front of the other in a motion similar to running.
During practice, the team does hill training, interval training, distance training, speed training, and technique training. Races happen about once a week, and the can be incredibly grueling. Aidan Duffy ‘21 states that “they are hard. It is just pain all the way, but when I’m done I feel accomplished and proud of myself and my teammates.”
According to another Nordic Skier, Jack Bradbury ‘21, there are three types of Nordic races: mass starts, wave starts, and individual starts. In mass starts, everyone starts at once and they usually “end up tripping over each other or stabbing someone with their poles.” In wave starts, they will send people off in waves of three or more while in individual starts, they send people off one by one and then record how long it takes them to complete the course.
The students that do nordic believe that they gain a lot from the experience. Mr. Steiner, who is currently helping out with the nordic team, suggests that joining nordic is beneficial to those on the team because it “diversifies their skill sets and knowledge” as well as being “challenging and fun.” Duffy states that he enjoys nordic because “I get to hang out with my friends, stay in shape and ski outside.” Nordic helps students’ become more well-rounded as well as stay in shape while hanging out with their friends.
Nordic can also positively impact students’ lives and teach them valuable lessons. Aidan Duffy states that nordic “teaches you perseverance, determination and motivation, which you need to use a lot of in nordic skiing, and I use for homework and school work.” Mr. Steiner expresses that it teaches “perseverance and grit, two skills every business owner and employer are looking for.” The skills that Nordic teaches helps prepare students’ for their lives after high school as well as improving their lives now.
Editor-In-Chief
The fall of my freshman year in high school, we had no print publication. A group of students including myself reached out to our advisor expressing interest in joining a print class and creating a publication. By my sophomore year, I was named co-editor of The Devils' Advocate. We have continued to grow and change the publication as we see fit. It has always been my goal to create a supportive team environment. I started this with games at the beginning of the year, and continue with different activities throughout the year. I reached out to my fellow classmates and younger students in order to grow the program. I know that people write the best when they're passionate about the stories they are working on. I created a form to submit before pitch meetings, so they would run more smoothly and everyone got to pitch their stories. My junior year, we were struggling with people turning in stories on time. The stories that were turned in on time either did not include every perspective, were missing pictures, or had another error. The slideshow below is something I presented to the staff to work together and try and solve these problems.