Twenty-eight high school students are at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to receive hands-on training in multimedia journalism.
The students, from Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and New Mexico, are at the Cronkite School through June 16 as part of the Summer Journalism Institute, an immersive journalism program, where students attend classes with Cronkite faculty, tour local media outlets, and produce a newscast and a cutting-edge news website.
Program participants receive scholarships to attend the institute from the Arizona Broadcasters Association, the Scripps Howard Foundation and generous gifts from Cronkite Endowment Board members Tom Chauncey and Tim Riester. Scholarships cover the cost of meals, training and housing on ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus.
“There aren’t very many students that get to do something like this,” said Art Brooks, president and CEO of the Arizona Broadcasters Association. “They get to work with some of the best instructors they could hope to find before they even get to college.”
Classes include in-depth lessons on reporting, writing, multimedia journalism, videography and video editing. At the end of the two-week program, students work with Cronkite faculty to produce a professional-level 30-minute newscast, where they create news packages, write scripts and operate state-of-the-art studio equipment.
Additionally, students experience the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, staying at the Taylor Place residence hall and visiting the Sun Devil Fitness Complex.
The Summer Journalism Institute, which started June 4, is led by Anita Luera, the Cronkite School’s director of high school journalism programs and president of the Arizona Latino Media Association. Classes are taught by Luera and Cronkite faculty and staff, including Associate Professor Craig Allen and Professor of Practice Jessica Pucci.
“We’re always looking for ways to make the experience different,” Luera said. “It’s really exciting to see the students benefit from what we’ve planned and prepared for them.”
2017 Summer Journalism Institute Participants
Tiffany Acosta
La Joya High School, Tolleson, Arizona
Milan Andrade
Perry High School, Gilbert, Arizona
Max Baker
Ladue High School, St. Louis
Hannah Begay
Chinle High School, Chinle, Arizona
Jordan Brandon
Campo Verde High School, Gilbert, Arizona.
Nathanael Bustamante
Raymond S. Kellis High School, Glendale, Arizona
Joseph Early
Millennium High School, Goodyear, Arizona
Isaiah Elder
Agua Fria High School, Litchfield Park, Arizona
Cameron Ericson
Sunnyslope High School, Phoenix, Arizona
Isabella Escobar
ASU Preparatory Academy, Phoenix, Arizona
Geoff Exstrom
Kearney High School, Kearney, Nebraska
Irene Franco
University High School, Phoenix, Arizona
Hunter Franklin
Brophy College Preparatory, Laveen, Arizona
Keanu Gorman
Chinle High School, Chinle, Arizona
Kaylie Hewson
Imagine Prep Superstition, San Tan Valley, Arizona
Kelsey Johnson
Hamilton High School, Chandler, Arizona
Mario Lopez
Nosotros Academy, Tucson, Arizona
Tiara Manuel
Westwood High School, Scottsdale, Arizona
Janessa Moore
Snowflake High School, Snowflake, Arizona
Max Muehlhausen
Seton Catholic Preparatory High School, Gilbert, Arizona
Sylvia Murillo
Arizona School for the Arts, Phoenix
Andrea Paredes
Corona Del Sol High School, Tempe, Arizona.
Rachel Pearlstein
Chandler High School, Chandler, Arizona
Jimmizan Redhorse
Window Rock High School, Window Rock, Arizona
Caroline Smyrk
Horizon High School, Phoenix
Kiarra Spottsville
Moon Valley High School, Phoenix
Andrea Torres
Girls Leadership Academy of Arizona, Phoenix
Kaitlin Victorino
Highland High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico