By: Kayla Kuppertz
So far The Squire has gone on two different trips this year. The first was to St. Bonaventure for a journalism day competition, known as CommDay, short for communications. The trip was October 17. Students made videos, wrote articles, and created websites to enter into this competition, and were invited to present them during this event. Three groups from Eisenhower had made and presented videos, but none of them placed. The prompt for the competition was, “What isn’t the media telling us?” Some groups took a comedic approach, creating personas such as “Scurvy Steve,” or doing parodies of television shows, like The Twilight Zone. It was a great opportunity for The Squire staff to see how journalism groups at other schools function, meet with other journalism students, and share talents in moviemaking and article writing. Winning groups were gifted St. Bonaventure merchandise, and everyone who attended received pens, t-shits, drawstring bags, and notepads. Midway through the presentations, St. Bonaventure provided lunch for all of the attendees. After the presentations and awards were over, The Squire took a small tour of the on campus radio station, and spoke with current students. All in all, it was a fun trip that let students explore their journalistic talents.

The second trip that The Squire students went on was to the annual Edinboro Journalism Day event, held at the university in Erie on April 10. Journalism students from local counties and surrounding schools gathered to receive awards for videography, photography, articles, and other categories. Eisenhower did not have any entrants in this competition, but the awards were the last event of the day. The real benefit came from hearing guest speakers and attending workshops. The keynote speaker for the event was a reporter from channel 12, and people from other local news stations were present as well, including Lou Baxter from Jet 24. During the workshops, editors and advisers from the various schools’ journalism programs convened with professionals to discuss what could be done to better each group’s program. Speaking to a professional there launched the process to create what you’re looking at today. The Squire team discussed making various technological advances, coming soon, with the professionals to get their input and advice. Lunch was also provided on this trip after the workshop time was over, and more speakers presented. A man from NPR, National Public Radio, shared his experiences in his journalistic career. The final presentation was that of the awards. Finally, students were encouraged to attend a Digital Media Academy during the summer that Edinboro will be hosting, at which students can specialize in radio, broadcast, or newspaper skills.

Both quests have been exciting and beneficial so far, and hopefully The Squire will be going on more soon! Check back here periodically for news on more exciting Squire quests!