News Story

High school students from around the country arrived Monday for IU’s 69th annual High School Journalism Institute, where they will polish their skills and learn news ones, live on campus and produce stories, designs, broadcast pieces and other work.

The institute offers two week-long sessions, each with a different structure. During the first week, students take classes to learn the basics of newspaper writing, yearbook planning, photography and graphic design. Those will be editors-in-chief of their high school publications and students interested in communications and public relations also have their own workshops.

In their workshops, students learn skills, then immediately practice with projects that eventually may include work they can take back to their high school publications.

“The first week is really more about hands-on instruction,” said HSJI director Teresa White. “The second week is all about experiential learning.”

Week two workshops are conducted as converged newsrooms, with courses such as documentary film making, multimedia storytelling and sports journalism. These are project-based and attempt to recreate the experience of working for a real media organization.

“We want them to learn how to produce something on a deadline,” said White of the institute’s second week. “People are coming and going, laughing and bouncing ideas off each other. They are in an environment that has the energy of a newsroom.”

Regardless of which week students attend the institute, staff members say students will experience a balance of guidance and independence. Jim Lang, journalism advisor at Floyd Central High School and a longtime HSJI instructor, said teaching methods used at the institute are exactly how education should be.

“We are very kid-centered here,” he said. “The program structure is the perfect blend of rigor and creativity, and it is amazing to see that we make a difference in kids lives in just five to 10 days.”

Tamera Carter from Columbus, Ohio, said her first experience at HSJI left an impression. Last year, she attended the institute as a member of the sports journalism workshop. This year, she is a member of the communications team, which is tasked with manning the institute’s social media accounts and covering all things HSJI.

“Last year, I came to be around kids with similar interests as me,” Carter said. “There were only four girls in my class, and we became really close. I had a blast last year, so coming back this year was a no-brainer.”

Her teammate Erin Taylor, also from Columbus, Ohio, said the institute’s wide variety of classes that drew her back this summer.

“Last year, I was in the photojournalism class, which was fun, but now I know I don’t want to be a photojournalist,” she said. “Being on the communications team has been great so far, because we really get to use our whole back pack of skills in our work, from writing to taking photos to making videos.”

HSJI staffers said the exposure to several areas of study, and participation in electives and extra curricular activities is imperative for the development of well-rounded young adults. With several schools cutting funding for electives such as journalism or other media skills, programs like HSJI must step in and continue this type of learning, they said.

“High school students learn the most where they choose to be, whether it be journalism, media, choir or science,” said Lang. “Public education has been valuing choices less and less, and we have had to promote, and sometimes supplement, the elective experience for HSJI students.”

In addition to learning basic journalism skills, working on deadlines and being exposed to a wide variety of media, students at the institute are also receiving a crash course in college life.

“It was really a wake-up call for me about what college is really like,” Taylor said of her first year at the institute. “It’s not all chill and glamorous like I thought it would be. It’s a lot of hard work.”

Despite the fact that students are working hard all week, staff members try to plan fun activities, such as campus tours and walks around Bloomington, to help get students excited about college.

“I think a lot of high school students, especially seniors, let nerves and the bitter-sweet aspect of graduating get in the way when it comes to college,” said Allison Chaplin, women’s counselor and Media School senior studying journalism. “I try to give students the confidence to feel like they can handle college, and a lot of them leave here giddy with excitement about the future.”

HSJI students said the institute has not only made them more comfortable with college life, but also has given them more confidence in their ability to learn new journalistic skills and apply them.

“My favorite part about being the sports journalism class last year was proving that, even though I’m a girl, I can do it,” Carter said. “The girls really took a leadership role in the class, and that is something I’m really proud of.”

It’s not just high school journalists who reap the rewards of the institute. Staff members, usually IU students, serve as counselors and lab tech support, say they also benefit. Many return year after year.

“I wanted another chance to be a part of this amazing program, and being a counselor has been my way of doing so,” said Chaplin, who attended HSJI the summer before her senior year of high school. “It is a great opportunity for me to make connections with professionals in journalism while still having a lot of fun.”

White said many of the instructors, who are also high school teachers, find their two weeks at the institute to be refreshing.

“A lot of the work high school educators have to do during the school year is administrative,” White said. “There is none of that at HSJI, and they really just get to geek out about journalism with engaged students. I think it really gets them reset for the following school year.”

Lang has spent 26 consecutive summers at the institute, moving from high school student to counselor to instructor. He said his two weeks spent at HSJI are something he looks forward to every year.

“It really is the highlight of my summer,” he said. “Sometimes I’m kind of amazed that I get paid to be a part of this.”