Having the opportunity to write as the #1NWIStudent for La Porte High School has been an incredible learning experience for me. I have enjoyed writing for as long as I can remember, but getting to write for a larger audience has taught me many things about my writing, and myself. Being selected to fill this position seemed overwhelming at first, but as I completed articles and saw them published, I was able to see how important the news I put out was. I realized I wanted to base my career around writing. Writing for this position helped me grow, and has given me the responsibility of gathering and sharing information about my school. It has given me a look into what a career as a journalist is like.
Being able to represent LPHS has been an incredible experience and I am beyond thankful to have held this position for the past year. It has given me a great introduction to what my next few years will consist of as I study journalism at Lindenwood University in the fall. This has been a great chance to prepare for my future, and it has excited me for my future career.
I absolutely loved getting to have another reason to write. While there were stressful periods where I struggled to put a piece together, or waited for responses that took longer to receive, I loved the feeling of relief when I saw people sharing and discussing my articles on social media. It was surreal to have people all around my community reading, commenting on, and sharing my work.
Overall, I am thrilled to have received this opportunity. As my senior year ends, I am excited to see Alli Glen, sophomore, take over my position. She is an exceptional writer, and has shown an extensive amount of improvement over the year. I am anxious to see how having the chance to serve as La Porte High School’s one voice benefits her and helps her grow, as it did with me.
I would definitely recommend this internship to any student looking into writing as a career. There are so many events and people doing great things around us that go without coverage. Getting to provide my community with positive news has opened my eyes to all of the positive things going on in the world, many taking place close to home. Getting to write for a company that focuses on the positive aspects of life has been a break from the negative news on most media outlets. I loved getting to be a small part of something so big.
Overall, I have loved my time representing LPHS. While it seemed to go quickly, I think that I have truly learned more than I ever expected. I hope that the incoming journalists appreciate their time as a #1NWIStudent writer. If I could give them any advice, it would be to just write. I think that continuously writing has allowed my love for journalism to grow, and helped my writing become more straight-forward. Nothing but positive effects can come from pushing yourself to keep learning and growing, and finding new opportunities to showcase your work is a great way of finding out who you truly are as a writer.