Kirsten Gilliland, CJE

Kirsten Gilliland is a four-year adviser/teacher of broadcasting, newspaper, yearbook, English 10 and photography at Northwest High School in Grand Island, Nebraska. Under her advisement, Viking Media is a three-peat Class B state champ in broadcast news; 10 entries won first-place finishes; and students earned third overall in 2022—best in school history. Gilliland serves on the executive board of the Nebraska High School Press Association and JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee.

What is your approach to recruiting students for your journalism program?

My approach to recruitment is two-fold. 1. Produce a quality product. 2. Ask. If students are exposed to quality publications, including those which receive recognition at competitions, they'll be more likely to notice and want to join. If you want to grow your staff, the easiest way is to ask people to join. My staffs do this by looking through the latest yearbook as a reminder of who is in our school, having a discussion about who would make good additions and why, and sending invitations via email that go both to students and their parents/guardians.

How has recruiting improved your program?

Recruiting has grown the newspaper program from seven students to 12, yearbook program from one section of five to two sections with 30 total, and broadcasting from 17 to 21.

What challenges have you faced in recruiting students for your program?

The biggest challenge I have faced in recruiting students is getting it to work with their schedules. Often, college courses or courses they need to graduate are offered at the same time.

What is your best piece of recruiting advice for other advisers?

Create a quality product and ask.