Over the past week, members from the Talisman and DelHi staffs spent some time exploring the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, while being there for a Journalism convention.
The staff members got the opportunity to go on tours of the city’s historical markers before the start of the convention. They went to the Eastern State Penitentiary, the Rocky steps, the Museum of Illusion and took a walking tour around Philadelphia’s historical makeup.
“When going on the trip, I was surprised that we do so much other stuff around the city,” DelHi member Kamri Stephenson said. “My favorite part was going to see the [Eastern State Penitentiary]. We got to see what used to be an old working prison and learn what went on there.”
While at the convention, the students chose which sessions to attend so they could expand their knowledge on topics and bring it back to the workroom.
“One thing that Ava [Vogel] and I want to implement is the Pomodoro Method,” Talisman Managing Editor Nataile Heckert said. “[The Pomodoro Method] is just 15 minutes of completely silent work where you’re focused on one specific task to help with productivity in class.”
During the Friday of the convention, there was a 2-hour period for competitions. Depending on roles and what everyone signed up for, the competitions varied. For the contest, yearbook members had to pre-summit a spread following the guidelines they were given.
“For my spread, they gave you pictures and a theme to follow,” Stephenson said. “We submitted it before the convention, then during the 2 hours, I went to a room where they gave corrections and pointed out things that we did well on.”
Sixteen Talisman members and 3 DelHi members competed in a variety of competitions. Sophomores Vivian Kumpf and Zella Bunch received honorable mentions in each of their categories.
Kumpf, who competed in the Commentary Writing contest, said she was given information about a cell phone policy then had to develop an argumentative article for cell phone policy in schools.
In the Feature Writing contest, Bunch listened to a guest speaker from the Philadelphia Opera talk about making the arts more accessible for people with disabilities, then wrote a feature story about the organization.
The contests are just one part of the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention, which occurs in a different location each fall. The Talisman has been attending this convention for over 15 years now.
This year, The Talisman was awarded 10th Place Best in Show for high school websites. It is the third year that the Talisman has appeared in the Best of Show list.
From the trip, DelHi and Talisman not only competed and looked to receive awards but also learned how to make themselves better student journalists and how to improve the overall quality of their publications.
“What I liked so much about the convention is that we didn’t just learn how to make ourselves better, but also how we can implement what we learned back in the classroom,” Stephenson said.
