High school journalists to get hands-on learning at Next Generation Storytelling camp

Story by Richard Percy

This summer the UO School of Journalism and Communication will offer a camp for high schoolers interested in pursuing journalism or communications at the college level. Anthony Whitten, the SOJC’s scholastic journalism outreach coordinator, brought the concept for the Next Generation Storytelling camp to Eugene when he joined the staff in 2016.

“I spent the last five years working at a comparable summer program back east at George Mason University,” Whitten said. “This seemed to be something that the SOJC was lacking, as far as recruitment tools, and as a way to enrich scholastic journalism across the state.”

Next Generation Storytelling takes place June 25-30, and there are 200 spots for applicants. The SOJC will accept applications from high school students entering 10th, 11th and 12th grade who are interested in gaining hands-on skills that will position them for careers in print or broadcast through April 14.

Students at the camp will learn through experience and from working professionals in the journalism and media field.

“While many of the students are already on their high school publication, this is in a college setting,” said Whitten. “They get to live on the campus in Eugene and experience what it’s like to be in a college-level class with SOJC faculty.”

Whitten said that the school’s award-winning faculty created the camp’s curriculum. “They basically each proposed their passion project, then after receiving all of the proposals from faculty, I went through them with Regina Lawrence and Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda,” he said.

In the end, the SOJC team chose 10 classes covering diverse topics ranging from Basics of Photojournalism to Sport Brand Strategy. Whitten explained that “the goal was to represent all parts of the SOJC — both the multimedia side and the advertising side.”

Students who complete the camp can earn one general elective college credit from the University of Oregon. The tuition of $850 per student includes one week of journalism and leadership skills development, on-campus housing, transportation to and from the Eugene airport, meals and all other scheduled activities, including a luau. The programming will include presentations by featured speakers Sonya Ross, Gary Metzker, Sarah Barshop and Yvonne Leow.

“This experience prepares students for what it’s like to be at the University of Oregon in the SOJC,” concluded Whitten. “For students who may undecided about whether they want to go to college or pursue communications or journalism, this is a way for them to test that out. It represents a ton of possibilities for students.”

Richard Percy will graduate this spring with a master’s in multimedia journalism. He is a Portland-based filmmaker and writer who develops story packages for the UO School of Journalism and Communications. View samples of his work at www.richardpercy.com.