Before my “Intro to Journalism” course in sixth grade, I had no idea that I would have a future in journalism. Through that class, I fell in love with the article writing process and how strategic and specific it could be, but I could always add my creative touch to it. I joined my school’s newspaper, The Portfolio, in seventh grade. In addition to writing, I found joy in the editing process. I love to help others refine their writing skills and learn from their mistakes. I enjoyed memorizing the rules of journalism because working on a school publication gave me experience with deadlines and stress, which prepared me for realistic workplace circumstances.
In my second-year on The Portfolio, our advisor decided to reformat the entire newspaper’s structure into more of a magazine, taking inspiration from the local arts high school’s newsmagazine, The Muse. Learning about the magazine and looking at it to improve our own publication became a factor in my decision to audition for Dreyfoos.
Nothing compares to flipping freshly-printed pages that represent the effort made to help create our newsmagazine. Nothing compares to smiling students whose stories come alive through compelling quotes and information that a student-run staff worked hard to compile, produce, and publish.
I’ve worked on The Muse for three years: as a copy staffer, as the Head Copy Editor, and as Production Managing Editor. With each position comes new experiences and new challenges. As a copy staffer, my editor depended on me to edit live coverage for Spirit Week when he wasn’t able to, which came with time restraints and pressure to not let any errors slip through the cracks. However, nobody’s perfect, so issues came up. I studied my mistakes and made sure to learn from them.
When I had to edit Spirit Week coverage the next year as Head Copy Editor, I had already combatted the issues from the previous year by creating a common errors resource that helped to solve most problems before they could occur. Nevertheless, my time as a Head Copy Editor was not challenge-free. Fixing every error became my responsibility, and it felt like every setback was my fault. I didn’t let that stress take me down. Instead, I decided to combat it by being honest, taking accountability, and seeking feedback from everyone I worked with on how to be better. As Production Managing Editor with responsibilities to oversee the public relations, copy, and social media sections, I often encourage them to critique my leadership skills to ensure they are enjoying the work they are doing.
I haven’t forgotten my journalistic roots in a middle school classroom where I learned the history and importance of truth, justice, and accuracy to inform students, staff, and people in the community. Working in scholastic journalism these past six years has granted me the opportunity to experience journalism’s mission in a way to educate and entertain while I learn throughout the process. As a leader on staff, I am one of the eyes and ears that people depend on to produce accurate, truthful, and concise content that means something to them. It has been an honor to tell the stories of my school’s student body and explore the topics and events that are important to them, and that honor is important to me.
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