A stranger once came up to my mom at a park when I was four years old and said, "I've been listening to your daughter for the past 20 minutes. How could she possibly know that much about history at that age?" My mom just laughed and said, "She doesn't, she is just an amazing story teller." My mom likes to pin-point that as the moment she knew I was going to be a writer. I've known almost my whole life journalism was the path for me. That sounds dramatic, but I've always had a story forming in my head.

    I was first introduced to journalism in fourth grade by Graebner Elementary's student newspaper "The Blue Ribbon Press" and it became my passion. Before fifth grade even started, I was selected to be one of three editors of the paper. For the next two years, I would spend every lunch recess inside with Mrs. Nochel, editing stories in the library.

    My love for storytelling continued and around age 11 I began writing some cheesy romantic teen novels of my own. In the sixth grade I had one of these short stories called "Camp Somber" published in an anthology for the Michigan Authors Syndicate as a featured young writer. Though I wish I had sent in one of my more mature pieces, writing is an evolution; you're growing your craft as you yourself are growing up. I'm still so proud of little me being part of a book you can actually buy on Amazon- so cool!

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SOPHOMORE YEAR
 

   It seemed almost obvious that when I got to high school I would take journalism. My sophomore year I joined the staff of "The Generator." I was so excited to be working on the newspaper and would often take on too many stories at once because I was so eager, often resulting in a lot of late nights on the computer. That year in Mrs. Campion's class I discovered my love for working on the newspaper and all things journalism.

    One area I particularly struggled with my first year on staff was design. I hated it. I actually dreaded opening InDesign. So naturally, that summer when it came time to sign up for classes at the MIPA Summer Journalism Conference, my adviser recommended I take Design Like a Pro to sharpen my skills. In the few days I spent in that class, I became obsessed with design. The redesign I did of our newspaper in that class won me an award of excellence. From that point on, newspaper design became one of my passions. I've been constantly looking at design inspiration on Pinterest and other publications, finding ways to revamp our newspaper ever since.

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JUNIOR YEAR
 

    My second year on staff, I became one of the co-editors of "The Generator." My junior year as editor taught me more than just how a publication runs, it cast me in the role of an effective leader. As an editor, in addition to editing stories, my main focus was on the designs in the paper. Being in this position taught me a lot about the importance of deadlines and just how much work goes into making a publication.

    I was also given the amazing opportunity my junior year to attend the JEA National Student Journalism Conference in Chicago. There, I got to attend workshops, meet people who held important status in the journalism world and even got to attend a real editors meeting at the "Chicago Tribune." These experiences really solidified my love for print media and made me realize that I could do what I do for "The Generator" as a real job.

    Junior year was a particularly challenging year. Not only because it was my first year as editor, but also because our adviser was pregnant and would be leaving for half the year to have her baby. While she was gone, she left the class to be run by myself and the two other editors. Trying to enforce deadlines and rules on our peers without her proved to be difficult, but this challenge taught us a lot about leadership and adapting to dynamic changes. 

   The summer before my senior year, the other two editors and I attended the Newspaper Editors class at the MIPA Summer Workshop where we learned a lot. Reflecting on that first year of experience as editors, our struggles and our successes paved the way for exciting new changes in the next year. There is always room for improvement in a publication, and hearing how other newspapers are organized helped us to restructure our class and use our time and resources more effectively. 

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SENIOR YEAR

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  My third and final year working on "The Generator" has definitely been the most memorable by far. The other editors and I pushed ourselves to break boundaries never crossed at our school. We published an edition the first month of school--our earliest ever--which was distributed to every student in the school for the first time. We made our largest paper yet at 16 pages and became more risky and experimental with our stories and designs.

    The moment I discovered the impact of student journalism came during my senior year. For our January edition I decided to write an opinion article on a hot topic in our school: why are there no feminine hygiene products available in the women's bathrooms? While researching my story I had a conversation with some of our school's administrators about the issue, and a week later I was told that because of my story, dispensers would be installed in all of the bathrooms at my school. I wasn't just reporting the news, I became a part of it, influencing the world around me through journalism. I was shocked. Seeing real change come from a story I wrote was an indescribable feeling. My experience with this article changed the way I saw what we as student journalists were doing. Our voices have a lot of power and when we use that platform for good, it has the possibility of making a difference in the lives of those around us.

    Next year, I will be attending Wayne State University to study journalism and continue my love for writing and design. I plan on being part of their school publication and am excited to cover stories about the great city of Detroit. My dream job would be working for a magazine and having more freedom to take more risks with my stories and cover issues I really care about. 

    If I didn't have "The Generator" in my life, I don't know where I'd be. Nothing makes me happier than cramming for a deadline and pulling my hair out because InDesign and Photoshop aren't cooperating. My high school journalism experiences have taught me so much about the importance of freedom of speech, preserving print media and the role journalists play in society.