Entering the Journalism class, Freshmen, Kiara Meadors, Elizabeth Gallardo, Maeson Coffin, Keaton Espich and Julianna Cooper, plus sophomore Janessa Salazar, hope for a good trimester. Photo by: Brandon Heims
By Brandon Heims
The Journalism class of 2012-2013, trimester two, gains six new staff writers. The newspaper veterans hope to teach and expand the knowledge of these new students, while collecting ideas from them.
The reasoning behind joining this class varies among the new staff. Freshman Kiara Meadors said she joined journalism because she wanted a better knowledge on writing. In addition, she said, “I love to write and thought journalism would be fun to try out.” Another freshman, Julianna Cooper, would agree with Meadors about loving to write, but she joined journalism for more than that. “I love to write articles about subjects that most [people] don’t know about. I also love to take pictures. Photography and writing are both my biggest passions.” Sophomore Janessa Salazar said, “I decided to become a journalist because I like to write and to be able to tell other people’s stories.” Freshman Maeson Coffin has a similar reason of joining journalism. “I like to write stories, [plus] writing keeps me calm,” he said.
Gaining knowledge from a class is one thing, but bringing ideas is another. For Meadors, she expects to gain knowledge of writing better than she can now. “I also expect to gain a better vocabulary to use for writing,” she adds. Like Meadors, Cooper expects to gain more writing skills, “I hope that I will be able to have stronger writing skills.” Cooper as well wants to bring more fun writing topics to the class. Freshman Elizabeth Gallardo said she expects to learn a better way to write new things. Freshman Keaton Espich agrees with the others about learning how to gain more writing experience, “especially in writing articles.” He also wants to gain more confidence in talking to someone and asking them questions.
Students have their weak points in a class, but they also have their strong points. Salazar said she could do a rival topic because she can write about both sides of the story and people can see it being compared right in front of them. Espich, on the other hand, said making the lead was his strong point stating, “I can easily draw readers in if I put my mind to it.” Cooper said that she is better when directing her article topics about high school students.
Besides journalism, Meadors said she is involved in competitive speech. Aside from writing and taking pictures, she babysits and play sports. She also said that she writes all the time. “I write poems, songs, and am currently working on a short story to publish possibly,” she stated. After high school, Meadors plans to attend Indiana University and take basic classes, then transfer to the New York Institute of Photography and become a professional photographer there. “The reason I decided to do this is because with the money I earn I’d like to help children who are orphaned and be able to donate money to kids with heart problems, since I have similar problems.”
Like Meadors, Cooper writes outside of school. She writes creative stories about worlds that do not exist. Similar to Meadors again, Cooper wants to go to college and become a professional photographer. “If that doesn’t work out, I would honestly like to become an astronomer or Greek mythology professor,” She said. Other than writing and taking pictures, Cooper participates in the Portuguese club.
Gallardo has different interests from Meadors and Cooper. She plays baseball and softball, but does not write in her free time. When Gallardo graduates she wants to become either a dental hygienist or an upper elementary school teacher.
Espich, like Gallardo, is not in any clubs, but fills the time with other productive activities. “I love to play my cello,” he said, “I play it a lot. I also play my guitar and sometimes piano.” Some of his other interests include writing and music. “I’m writing two stories right now, in my spare time,” he adds. After high school, Espich wants to either be a gamer designer or a musician. He states, “I love video games and I’ve made one small FPS (First Person Shooter) and a small maze game once. I also love music and have written a few songs.”
Like both, Meadors and Gallardo, Salazar’s interests include sports, but she does more than that. “I love to read a lot. Really anything interest me but mostly fiction novels.” Salazar is also in FTA, Spanish club, and JSA. She as well writes on her spare time saying, “After reading a book I sometimes like to write my own ending if it is a cliff hanger.”
As mentioned before, Coffin likes to write, but he includes other activities in his schedule. He draws and is interested in semi trucks. “I more than love to be up close and personal with a semi. Being up close to it, I’m like a little kid getting to see his dad after a long hard year at war,” he said. Coffin is apart of a club outside of school and goes to the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall County. After high school, he wants to customize semi trucks saying, “I got most of it planned out, like getting the truck drawn. When [it is] done, [I just] put it on YouTube and try to get sponsors.”
Even though these students come from different backgrounds and have different hobbies, they really are not that much apart. Through journalism and writing they come together as a family.