Category Archives: Quests

Quests

Quests 2015-2016

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By: Kayla Kuppertz

To kick off the school year, journalism travelled to Saint Bonaventure for their annual CommDay competition on Friday, October 16. This year, Squire students Alex Hagberg, Grant Venman, Allie Schutt, Kayla Kuppertz, Alisen Hazeltine, Amber Gardner, and Brittany Arp submitted projects to answer the prompt, “How can you change the world?” Alex and Grant teamed up to create a photographic presentation which they titled, “One Adventure at a Time.” The group formed by Allie, Kayla, Alisen, Amber, and Brittany produced a video that showed how “One Small Act” can change the world. They enlisted the help of other students and journalism adviser, Miss Howe, to star in their video. Neither group’s submission took home any awards, but the club brought home plenty of free cookies from the event. Students in journalism one, two, and three could attend, although several opted out. The CommDay events that our students were part of included workshops as well as the competition. Workshops focused on social media, broadcasting, writing, and photography, and each was very beneficial to our students as journalists. Overall, the event was educational and exciting, despite all of the snoozing on the ride to the university.

Watch the video here:

SBU CommDay 2016

The Squire also returned to Edinboro University’s annual High School Journalism Day on April 8. Students listened to speakers from local news and media, had the option to attend two different workshops, were provided a luncheon while listening to a keynote speaker, and stayed for part of the awards ceremony at the end of the day. The opening speaker was Kevin Kleps, assistant editor of Crain’s Cleveland Business. He spoke on the importance of having a diverse skill set and going out of your comfort zone. The workshops related to “Public Relations and the Media” and “Career Opportunitites in Sports Journalism.” The PR workshop was held with Kim Thomas, the Northwest Regional Director, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, and Marissa Orbanek, Public Relations Manager, General McClane School District. The panelists for the Sports Journaism seminar were Sports Director for WJET/FOX 66/YourErie.com, Craig Smylie, and Sports Editor for The Meadville Tribune, Pete Chiodo. Meanwhile, the editors and adviser for The Squire met with Edinboro communications staff to discuss possible improvements to be made to the program. Afterwards, lunch was served and the keynote speaker, Baltimore reporter for WBAL-TV, Vanessa Herring spoke on her experiences as a freelance journalist, on-air reporter, and on the importance of phrasing when reporting and diversity in the media. Unfortunately, The Squire could not stay for the awards ceremony due to time constraints, and returned to the school. Overall, the event was a positive experience for the students, who were able to learn about building on their journalistic skills, and it gave the program a chance to grow and improve.

Edinboro held their annual High School Journalism Day event on April 8, which our Squire Staff was lucky enough to attend. They heard various speakers and learned about different aspects of PR, sports journalism, and much more.
Senior Co-Editor, Allie Schutt
Quests

Quests 2014-2015

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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!