A special introduction from our advisor, Mrs. Graziano:
Starting a program for an online newspaper in 2021 was a difficult sell for some students.
Taking a journalism class doesn’t always sound exciting. As an English teacher and elective teacher, I often get:
“What do you do in journalism?”
“Do I have to write?”
“Is it a lot of writing?”
“Do I have to write about news?”
Apathy is the biggest response I get when it comes to writing in most of my classes.
Consequently, I would argue it’s the most important skillset to have when you graduate.
You write in every class. You have to write for almost every task I can think of that involves communication.
Being able to communicate well, especially in writing, is probably one of the most important skills necessary in all work forces.
I used that foundation to mold a few writers into our starting staff.
I found a few really engaged reporters and was fortunate enough that they loved to design too.
Kylie Lancaster and Ava Stiglicz seemed to like the class enough to keep taking it—they became active editors in Journalism II.
They seemed to like being co-editors so much they keep leading the staff—they took all four levels of journalism.
Then they surprised me—Kylie won a few Best of SNOs for a few articles on news at Brunswick High.
Kylie and Ava then worked on completing the other requirements for SNO Awards: perfecting their craft, improving their writing, trying other elements of journalism they weren’t familiar with, posting daily on social media accounts, recruiting followers, and redesigning the site and brand of the paper—they won a Distinguished Site Award—something I never thought I’d see my small staff of writers, photographers, and editors do.
I hope to continue this standard of excellence in writing, set by two young sophomores, who found a way to write. They created a community that cultivates the power of writing: the power of journalism.
I hope to inspire others with our successes and get more young writers—to be engineers—and find what they enjoy writing about. I might not have a class of forty, or teach journalism all year like other programs, but the Garnet and Gold Gazette competes with schools all over the U.S. with much more expertise, more writers, and experience. My editors taught me that we can succeed, regardless of the number of staffing, resources, and our community will always find a way.
But one thing I know for sure in my line of work: students will surprise you—every time.
