Writers reflect on stories of community

This year’s Scholastic Journalism Week takes place Feb. 19-25. SJW aims to promote journalism and the press among students across the nation. This theme for the week is ‘The Communities We Cover.’

The Feather staffers do their part to cover their community, whether it be to promote an event or make the public aware of a certain issue. Through The Feather, students are able to reach out to their community while also becoming involved in the events that impact their lives.

Journalism gives students the opportunity to build communication skills that will be valuable for them to use in college and in their future careers. Many students who join journalism are able to talk to adults with confidence after being on staff for a few months.

Recently, second year Feather staffer Kamryn Schultz, ‘19, visited Kepler Neighborhood School to witness the different ways in which the students serve the community.

“I really enjoyed going to Kepler and seeing a different and unique school environment,” Schultz said. “Going there made me realize that school isn’t just about gaining knowledge for yourself, it’s also about sharing what you learned with others and influencing them in good ways. This was a positive experience, I really like seeing the kids participate in different activities that traditional schools normally wouldn’t.”

Journalism pushes students to visit areas that they normally would not go to. As a student journalist, they are able to cover events from a different perspective than most newspapers.

This year’s lone freshman on staff, Braden Bell, got out of his comfort zone recently by visiting the Poverello House.

“The Poverello house was a unique experience because I had never been there before so I learned a lot,” Bell said. “I really enjoyed how friendly everyone was and how loving they were to me even though we just met. One part that was difficult for me was getting the courage to go up and talk to these homeless people. Honestly, I was a little scared of them because I didn’t know what they would think of me or how they would react to me wanting to talk with them.”

Bell was able to overcome his fear and meet individuals at the Poverello House. The experience helped Bell obtain a new perspective of his community while also helping raise awareness for a good cause.

Another student who used SJW as an opportunity to serve his community was fellow first-year staffer Suky Cheema, ‘19. Cheema visited the Community Food Bank where he learned about how that program works and how the students here on campus will serve there during Serve Day.

Cheema credits The Feather for helping him become more involved in his community.

“Since it is my first time being apart of SJW, I’m really happy being apart of all the activities that went on this week and how much information we got out of it,” Cheema said. “This was definitely a positive experience because I feel like it helped me get more involved with the social media sites of The Feather. I believe The Feather helps me get more opportunities to serve the community because it helps me realize the importance of serving the community around me.”

Students should serve the community all year, regardless of what week it is. However, SJW gives The Feather a chance to highlight some of the staffers who are making a difference in our community.

For more information about how students are going to serve the community, read the following articles: FC Serve Day: Kepler Neighborhood School and FC Serve Day: Poverello House.

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