The Feather was never my first choice. Junior year, I had the option of requesting three electives. The Feather wouldn’t have made the list—even if I had five options. But somehow, I found myself choosing between retaking Art or enrolling in a random class called The Feather. Knowing I’d earned a D in Art back in 8th grade, The Feather seemed like the only logical option.
Walking into the class for the first time, my expectations were trampled, in the best way. I had anticipated a typical, uninspired class. The Feather was anything but that. I entered a space where students were given the freedom to express themselves through journalism, photography, and videography. On that very first day, Kori James explained what The Feather really was. At the time, I didn’t fully understand. It’s not just a class. Not just a team. It’s a family.
The promise of a trip to New York was enough to keep me enrolled, and soon after, I convinced my friend Owen Gainer,’25, to switch over from Art. That decision sparked the beginning of my first Feather adventure.
Mic’d Up is a series that has existed at The Feather for years, but our advisor Kori James, encouraged us to make it our own. Our first Mic’d Up was filmed at the 9/11 Memorial. I remember how nervous we were—scared to approach people and unsure of how to conduct interviews. But James handed us a mic and pushed us forward. That day, we ended up interviewing Fresno’s mayor Jerry Dyer at our very first event and even caught him off guard with an informal, “Hey Jerry.” I didn’t know it then, but being pushed out of my comfort zone that day would shape who I am now.
Though Mic’d Up was short-lived—only four episodes ever made it online—it was packed with life experiences and memories. Unfortunately, Owen Gainer, ’25, and I didn’t exactly excel at uploading the content to the backend much to our editors’ dismay.
Junior year flew by, and before I knew it, I was boarding a plane to New York City. On that trip, I began to truly appreciate the platform The Feather gave me. We raced through the city, not wasting a single moment. We visited museums, attended journalism conferences, and ate our way through every borough. I learned more about the culture of New York City and discovered a newfound passion for journalism at the 100th CSPA conference.
That experience convinced me to choose The Feather again as a senior.
Looking back, I do have regrets. I prioritized sports over journalism, which left me with little time for The Feather. Still, my advisors James and Dorina Gilmore Young—pushed me to write some of my best articles. I didn’t choose the easiest topics either. I wasn’t writing to meet a quota; I wanted to challenge myself.
That mindset led to some of my favorite work: A Student’s Guide to Saving, A Student’s Guide to Investing, and my most complex article, the Leadership Editorial. These pieces forced me to research, interview, and educate myself until I became something close to an expert. I also learned valuable communication skills, working closely with my editors to refine my writing.
On that note, I owe a huge thank you to Delaney Meyers, ’26, and Danielle Arndt, ’26. They didn’t just fix my mistakes and move on—they talked me through them, coached me, and helped me grow. Thanks to them, I didn’t just become a better writer.
In fact, I know both of my advisors would be disappointed if all I got out of The Feather was stronger writing skills. This program changed how I view travel. Europe became the backdrop for some of the best days of my life. Traveling through four different countries, cultures, and languages is a rare classroom opportunity.
Sure, some experiences were… eye-opening (the baths of Budapest come to mind). But every moment was meaningful, not just because we were in a different country—but because we were there together. That’s the Feather family.
And like any family, we fought. We got on each other’s nerves. But we were always there for each other. Every member of our team worked together to get stories written, edited, linked, and packaged for publishing. All that work paid off. Our collective effort earned The Feather a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital Gold Crown—recognizing us as one of the top online student newspapers in the country.
The memories made with my Feather team will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you to those who pushed me and supported me. If you are considering joining The Feather, know you are not just joing a class, its a team and more importantly a family.
Ian Palsgaard is currently not committed to a college yet. He hopes to continue his track career and has received offers to run at different colleges. He will be majoring in software engineering with a minor in business administration. Although he doesn’t know where he’s going yet he’s confident the skills he learned in The Feather have forever made an impact on his life and owes a big debt to Kori James and Dorina Gilmore-Young for taking a chance on him.
For more from the Feather, visit Column: Caleb Eldridge shares on the importance of leading humbly or Fresno Christian choirs perform at Heritage Festival in Anaheim
