On April 5th, Edinboro University held its 12th annual High School Journalism Day, inviting high school students throughout the area to come and learn more about writing as a profession. A contest was also held, and schools sent in stories or photos in different categories with the chance to win cash prizes. Four of Slippery Rock High School’s yearbook and journalism students won prizes, and three students attended the event. The four students who won were seniors Ava Marini, Michael Kiefer, Samantha Edwards, and Claudia Allen.

At the event, students could choose to attend one of two major workshops: one being “Becoming a Better Writer” and the other “What do Sportscasters Do when they Grow Up?” Ava Marini and Samantha Edwards attended the first the workshop while Michael Kiefer attended the second. Ava Marini stated that the workshop was “Useful and had a lot of helpful information.”

After the workshops, students who attended ate lunch and listened to a speaker before the awards were given at the ceremony.

Ava Marini came in first place in the sports photo category, and won $100 for her photo entitled Cheerleading.  She says, “I liked the opportunity to go and see what was offered. Even though I’m not in the journalism class, I still learned a lot about writing.”

Claudia Allen came in third place in the sports photo category, and won $25 for her photo titled Swimming. She was not able to attend Journalism Day due to a track meet, but she stated “The day had many benefits to those who could go. It was helpful to enhance their writing skills.”

Michael Kiefer won fifth place in the sports photo category for his photo of golf. He attended a workshop on what sportscasters do when they grow up. He stated, “It was interesting to hear the points of view, why they do what they do, and why I should go into the field. Listening to their life stories was very interesting.”

Samantha Edwards won third place in the feature story category for her article on the Stage Crew Club at Slippery Rock High School, earning $25 for her story. She said, “The day was full of cool stuff to learn and do. It was fun getting to go and see all the classes that showed up and all the awards won.”

A number of guest speakers talked about their experiences in their field of journalism at Edinboro’s event. The opening speaker was D.X Ferris, a music journalist who shared his experiences with writing for the music industry and how it has changed greatly over time. The closing speaker was Jason Pettigrew, another music journalist.

Edinboro Journalism Day was busy and full of great experiences for any writer or individual who wants to go into the profession.