Hello, my name is Katelyn, I’m a senior getting ready to graduate, as well as one of the editors for the Tahoma News. I tried to take journalism beginning in my freshman year, but it was so popular that I didn’t actually get in until my junior year. 

Immediately it was my favorite class. Even though we didn’t start writing or publishing anything for the first month, I still loved it. We spent time getting to know each other and establishing a collaborative environment. We couldn’t be afraid to talk to each other, we needed to work together.

My first article was titled “The Future of Power Hour”. It was about the threat power hour was facing after issues in the first month of school after returning from Covid. After that I wrote two more articles about the food banks pirate ship fundraiser at Summit Trail Middle School. 

Then it came time to choose editors. I really didn’t think I had much to offer, I was one of the underclassmen and I had never taken Journalism before. But, somehow, I was chosen to be one of the five editors that year. It was really exciting and I was honored.

I met one of my best friends in that class. We had so much fun writing together and collaborating, bouncing ideas off each other. The whole class was a lively environment. It was work at your own pace, as long as you get your work in on time. We had a story due every two weeks so we learned about the importance of deadlines and due dates. 

You had to do interviews, take pictures, write a draft, get it edited, write a final and get it published within those two weeks. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t difficult if you plan ahead and think smart.

During my second year in journalism, I was once again given the opportunity to be an editor again. I got to work with the new teacher this year who is absolutely amazing. It was interesting this year because for the first time ever we have two class periods for journalism. In all honesty, I was worried about it in the beginning, asking things like “how will they know what we’re writing about?” “What if we accidentally publish two of the same story”. 

It wasn’t until second semester, when I decided to TA for that second period of journalism, that I realized it really wasn’t that big of a deal. We have a whiteboard with story topics and access to each other’s stories. It works really well, and we have double the stories getting published.

Although I’m not planning on majoring in journalism, I do appreciate the opportunities it has presented me with. I feel like I can hold a professional interview, edit documents well, and collaborate with my fellow writers and editors. The journalism program is an incredible opportunity that I would recommend to any underclassmen or incoming freshman.