Members of Dos Pueblos High School’s Yearbook program traveled to Philadelphia this past week for the Journalism Education Association’s semi-annual National High School Journalism Convention, where they received awards and attended educational sessions regarding journalistic skills.
“JEA is a national journalism convention for high school students that people from all around the country come to, and even some people from out of the country [attend],” said Yearbook Design Editor Carly Ridenour (12).
A selection of both Yearbook staffers and editors attended the trip and received recognition for their work. Editors Amelia Vander May (12), Will Parisse (12), Reagan Arnold (12), and Brigid Finney (12) all received honorable mentions, and Co-Editor-in-Chief Sienna Valentine (12) and staffer Max Heinemann (9) received excellence awards in their specific categories at the conference.
“To go on the trip, Mr. Dent wanted us to all do a contest,” Heinemann said. “And then there were also more in-person contests where we had to write or design [things while at the convention].”
JEA offers a variety of workshops where students can learn about the skills necessary to be a journalist.
Ridenour highlighted one of her favorite sessions that she attended, which was taught by the journalist Cathy Kuhlmeier. Kuhlmeier was involved in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case in which student journalists sued their school district, claiming that their First Amendment rights had been violated.
“It was really cool to see her side of the story and how she fought for her rights as a student journalist when she was only 16, which was crazy,” Ridenour said. “That also just really inspired me to write stories that I care about.”
Heinemann said his favorite session he attended was one on sports photography, and he felt that it was helpful as he takes a lot of photos at sports games for Yearbook.
“[The speaker] told us about the gear he uses, … the settings on the camera, where he shoots from, and like different strategies to use … when you’re shooting a game,” Heinemann said.
JEA covers a variety of media types including newspaper, online publications, broadcast, yearbook, magazine, and more. Students are able to learn about their specialty as well as other forms of journalism.
“It’s important because we can learn a lot more about journalism as a whole, and not specifically just yearbook,” Heinemann said. “You can also kind of branch onto things you wouldn’t really expect, like I learned a lot about ethics and AI and how that’s becoming a big thing in journalism.”
Aside from attending the convention, members of Yearbook spent time exploring the cities of New York and Philadelphia. Ridenour explained how this trip not only provides them with an educational opportunity, but also enables members of the program to form better bonds with each other.
“This one was very special because I got to connect more with my friends on the editors team, and connect more with the staffers, which in the last trip I didn’t get to do because we didn’t have staffers go on the trip,” Ridenour said. “So it was really fun getting connected with some Yearbook staffers, [and] I think it was more special this way.”
The students in Yearbook have the ability to attend JEA each year and through this opportunity, they are able to develop their skills as student journalists.
“[JEA] … gets you to better know what you’re doing, and understand why journalism is important,” Ridenour said. “Especially right now, in this time, journalism matters a ton, and I think it’s really important for our program to experience that and to know what we’re doing is impactful.”
