MHS StUDENTS EARN TOP AWARDS at mipa jOURNALISM CAMP

Three Monroe High School students – Samantha Drougel, Gabriella Anderson, and Emilia McLeod – earned four of the highest awards presented at the 2020 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Summer Journalism Workshop.

Only ONE award is given for the Staff Challenge which is open to all of the student journalists at the prestigious journalism camp hosted by Michigan State University.  This year’s challenge focused on designing plans for the upcoming school year, and the award was presented to Lotus Leaf Co-Chief Editors, Sam and Gabby.

The MIPA summer camp features in-depth classes led by nationally-recognized scholastic journalism teachers and professional journalists from across the country.  It is normally held on the MSU campus, but this year’s program featured two 2-week sessions held virtually. Students could enroll in one class each session.

For each class, MIPA presents a few Excellence Awards and one top award – the Sparty.  Emilia received an Excellence Award in Social Media.  Sam received an Excellence Award in Broadcasting and a Sparty in Podcasting, which is especially notable since she did her first podcast in spring, 2020.

“I am exceptionally proud of our students,” Dr. Julie Everly, Monroe Public Schools Superintendent, said.  “The awards reflect not only the level of individual journalistic excellence each student achieved but also the collective time and effort these student leaders and their advisor, Alison Drougel, have invested to elevate the quality and expand the reach of Monroe High School’s student media.”

Over the past year, the MHS student newsletter has evolved into the Lotus Leaf Media Outlet.  It now features an online flip format, breaking news, social media channels, broadcasts, and podcasts.  The MHS journalists use SNO apps (School Newspapers Online) to integrate the media into a single hub at lotusleaflive.com.

Mrs. Drougel said her journalism students remained highly engaged throughout the COVID-19 closure.

“The students continue to find new ways to use technology to deliver the news.  The Lotus Leaf has really flourished,” Mrs. Drougel said.  “They teach each other, and they support each other. They call each other when they have questions.”

Sam and Chancey Boyce, who are MHS broadcast co-anchors, now have green screens at their homes.  In the spring, while schools were closed, they recorded news segments using green screens, added backgrounds, and edited the video footage to make it appear that they were anchoring together. 

Mrs. Drougel said Sam and Gabby worked together over Zoom for the MIPA Staff Challenge.  Their detailed plan for 2020-21 includes schedules, job descriptions, group norming procedures, and virtual bonding activities, as well as plans for writing, photography, podcasting, and video packages.

“We are tweaking the details with the supervising editors,” Mrs. Drougel said.  “The Lotus Leaf team is excited to implement the plan and put it into action.”

The students are also eager to apply what they learned from the experts at the journalism camp.

Gabby participated in the Bobby Hawthorne Experience which focused on writing style.

“They showed us so many little things we can do if we just put a little more work into what we write,” Gabby said.  “So many simple things can make a dramatic difference.  If you just take a little more time on the simple things, it can make your writing so much better.”

Sam’s Broadcast Bootcamp included the production of MIPA Today and culminated in a film festival. 

“We had guest speakers from the industry come and share techniques to make our product better,” Sam said.  “My biggest takeaway was learning to always get more shots than you need, because you never know which ones you are going to use.”  

Emilia is the Social Media Editor for Lotus Leaf.  The social media class at MIPA helped her to think outside of the box regarding how different social media platforms are used.  For one of her group projects, they used TikTok to share information about voting in Florida.

“It’s about meeting people where they are,” Emilia said, “and kids are on TikTok.”

Emilia said the workshops taught her how important journalism really is.  “I realized how special the connections journalists make with people are,” she stressed, “as well how crucial it is to have individuals reporting on issues that might be overlooked otherwise.”

The camp’s virtual format didn’t hinder the curriculum or the connections. 

“Even though it was online, it felt like a very personal experience,” Gabby said. “They held office hours; they wanted to get to know us.  We had an assignment almost every night, and by class the next day, they had left in-depth, personal comments throughout the whole thing.”

Emilia had the opportunity to work with a boy from New York and a girl from California.

“I loved the connections I was able to make with other students,” Emilia said.  “I thought that I’d feel isolated with the camp being online, but we did some amazing work together.”

Sam agreed about collaborating with other students. “What I enjoyed most was making the remote broadcasts and working with other students who care as much about broadcast as I do,” she said.

MHS Students Earn Top Honors at MIPA Journalism Camp