My Introduction to Journalism

I had little idea what to expect when I entered into CatlinSpeak, the student newspaper, in my sophomore year. I was aware that it had only just become an official class, moving beyond its traditional club status, and it was clear its presence in the community in the school community was growing from year to year. Still, I wasn’t quite sure how I would fit into it, especially as a feckless youngster in a class of accomplished juniors and seniors. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I was welcomed right away. My editor, Fiona Noonan, who graduated at the end of that year, was a phenomenal writer and leader in the class, and as much could be said of the rest of its members. What at first had been a typical course, consisting of semiimportant assignments that begged to be completed half-heartedly, quickly transformed into a wonderful opportunity to be ambitious and creative in a loosely structured system.

 

I wrote an article on the quirks of the electoral college, I attempted to tackle the complex and convoluted relationship between federal and state legislation, I submitted a 4,000- word piece that previewed each and every one of the 32 college football bowl games that was met with a smile and an editor’s critical eye (the final version was a tidy 1,500). I interviewed, among others, a member of college basketball’s March Madness selection committee, and gained the valuable experience of teasing out the words and phrases I needed for a quality piece.

 

With little instruction, and a healthy dose of freedom, I found I could research any topic I found interesting, learn how to synthesize it into something meaningful, and then publish and share it with the community. Suddenly the pieces I wrote for school extended beyond the essay process: my grandfather emailed me about a piece; I found myself speaking to friends and classmates about something I had written; Peter Shulman, a history teacher, approached me and said one of my articles had sparked an interesting debate between him and a friend.

 

In January of 2013, CatlinSpeak’s advisers, Upper School teachers George Zaninovich and Patrick Walsh, reached out to non-seniors working on the paper to feel out interest in filling the positions of the graduating editors. I leaped at the opportunity, sensing the chance to push further my role in the class, and was lucky enough to be selected along with Nico Hamacher, a fellow sophomore, and Gabby Bishop, then a junior.

 

Changes were proposed for the new year, including a switch to daily news updates in place of the traditional weekly editions. Most ideas were student-driven, and the structure of the class was largely left up to discussions between the editors-to-be and the advisers of the course. All of a sudden I found myself helping to design a curriculum, the type of responsibility I would never have expected of myself, but which presented a wonderful and exciting opportunity.

 

Summer came and went; with its departure came the arrival of a new crop of writers ready to forge a new identity for the class. Daily news began without a hitch, and even as new writing styles and heavier workloads were introduced, students produced an incredible number of quality pieces.

 

Lauren Fogelstrom, a current junior and a newly appointed editor-to-be, followed an interest in the issue of youth homelessness, writing a piece focused specifically on the issue in Washington County. While it would have been simple and easy to do the entirety of the research online, Lauren reached out to nonprofits in the area and directly interviewed kids on the streets. She wrote an article that felt authentic and relatable, going beyond the requirements to produce something with a greater level of meaning.

 

Trevor Tompkins, a senior fond of writing about basketball and hip-hop culture, visited De La Salle North Catholic High School for its Black History Month celebration and reacted so positively that he wrote an article both describing his visit and, to some degree, pointing out the lack of effort by the Catlin Gabel community to promote discussion on issues of racial diversity.

 

Trevor’s story is key to what makes CatlinSpeak important. This is one of the few opportunities for students to have a voice in the community, to speak up and, at the very least, start the discussions that need to happen. Often, Catlin Gabel’s biggest problems are student-driven, and thus the response needs to come from within the student body. CatlinSpeak provides both a forum and a firestarter for meaningful discussion and, hopefully, change.

 

Looking to next year, fewer students have signed up than in years past, but to look at the numbers as a negative would be a mistake. With the ability to scrap the class structure and start from scratch at our fingertips, CatlinSpeak’s future is thrillingly malleable. Perhaps we’ll be a monthly periodical, with students required to report on topics within the school community. Perhaps we’ll make each edition focused on a particular issue, ranging from climate change to election coverage and more.

 

What makes CatlinSpeak such an incredible and unique opportunity is its nature as a class that will give back however much a student puts in. All it takes is a few inspired kids to create something great, and with some effort, those kids can make a difference in a community they care for deeply.

 

»Read about Gabby Bishop ’14’s experiences as a CatlinSpeak editor