Indiana University School of Journalism

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Photo by Jessica Williams

From left, school ambassadors Aliya Mood, Lindsey Medlen and Melinda Elston, and freshman Daion Morton, told high school students about the journalism program at IU. The annual IHSPA convention was at Franklin College Oct. 19.

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A passion for journalism is still evident across the state of Indiana, if the Indiana High School Press Association fall convention is any indicator.
 
About 400 high school students attended the event Oct. 19 at Franklin College, where the  School of Journalism’s students, faculty and advisers were on hand to make sure the high schoolers learned about the program.
 
“We want to show them what we have to offer as a college, as well as introduce them to the High School Journalism Institute,” said Linda Johnson, administrative services coordinator for HSJI, a program at the school that started more than 65 years ago.
 
Teresa White, director of HSJI, and Ron Johnson, IU Student Media director, also talked to the high school students and the 52 high school publications advisers who came from all over Indiana. The school’s career services director, Marcia Debnam, and Emily Turnier, director of advising at the School of Journalism at Indianapolis, also talked to prospective students. Professor Emeritus Jack Dvorak, former HSJI director, led a session on ethics during the workshops.
 
School of Journalism ambassadors  — journalism students who volunteer for school events and functions – related to the high school students as they were in the same place just a few years ago.
 
 “I love high school journalism, just because that’s where I got my start,” said Aliya Mood, an Ernie Pyle Scholar who attended the convention for the second time as an ambassador. As a high school student, she first heard about the School of Journalism while attending the conference.
 
 “When I was in high school, it was good to hear from college students what it’s actually like,” she said. “It’s just good for the students to learn about everything IU has to offer.”
 
Although not an ambassador, IU freshman Daion Morton helped at the school's booth. He’s a resident of the Media Living and Learning Center and is the director of public relations for the IU chapter of National Association of Black Journalists.
 

Photo by Jessica Williams

School ambassador Melinda Elston talked with a high school student. IHSPA director Diana Hadley said she was please with the increased turnout at the convention this year.

“I think events like this are important because it gets people out of the j-school,” he said. Students get the chance to talk about their experiences to high school students one-on-one, he added.
 
For longtime Indiana High School Press Association director Diana Hadley, the increase in attendance over the last few years is gratifying.  High school budget cuts have limited field trips and, in some cases, the school publications themselves.
 
“It amazes me that they’ve come, and I’m so pleased,” she said.
 
Not only did students have the chance to meet other students from different schools and check out college programs, but they also saw  other school's publications, which were on display.
 
 “A lot of times after they’ve been here, it pumps them up a little bit,” Hadley said. “They’ve been in school for a couple of months and they may be having some trouble meeting some deadlines, they may have kind of lost their way, and they come here and they’re rejuvenated.”
 
 

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