Welcome. Fifty-five hours in since Friday morning. Cliché or not, I feel like a much different human.
What I’ve been glad to notice in what makes HSJI HSJI is the different factors that ignite the machine and complete the puzzle. Socially and in my craft and what I like to do, I can clearly perceive to myself that I feel extremely comfortable here in those areas. The peers I’m beside today allow such an innovative experience when developing stories with pen and paper. When you have 19 other people as attentive, influenced and motivated as you are in a certain passion, it boosts your confidence overall. I think my journalism skills will always ameliorate when I have other people who are writing what I’m writing and can guide and help me get to where I need to be.
The tools at our disposal here, from Nikon cameras to the editors and mentors who gave their time and guidance to us, are things that I value tremendously. Our first workshop at Orange Media Network had me thinking that the idea of 10 or so people who have made it professionally — as well as the other students that have much more polished experience in journalism than my high school sophomore self — made me think that they expected a ton out of me. Today though, they’ve all turned into friends for me and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I’ve also learned that journalism is less driven by a list of statistics or an essay’s worth of factual evidence, but rather the interactions and experiences you develop along the way, in interviews and events and happenings.
The thing I’m surely most glad about here is the ability to polish my interviewing skills. As a person who can frequently fold when tasked with communicating to others and answering questions from others, I’m not an oral speaker. I always feel I’m precise speaking in my head but would prefer to hide under West Hall when given a question to answer, and I definitely exhibited a lot of that in a series of interviews my partner and I conducted. But over time we got into more of a conversation allowing me to speak freely against my habits and get to know each other more. The profile I just finished might be the best piece of writing I’ve done in my short history of passionate writing, and I think that’s because of the people that helped me get there in my editor and my partner.
Journalism is definitely what I want to make a career out of, especially in the sports industry. Looking today at the people who get the privilege of covering the ups and downs of high school varsity seasons, the promising young players making up the Trail Blazers, or the race to acquire Shohei Ohtani. That’s where I think I can thrive soon in the future, getting to create my own stories like the ones I’ve been addicted to since childhood. I can’t wait.
From getting faint-hearted and freaking out on a zip line Saturday to trying (and failing) to respect a word count on a story, I’m without a doubt on the most joyful roller coaster I’ve been on.
– Mohammed Damtew, Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School
– This story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to oregonlive.com/hsji.