Attending this institute has been a strange and wonderful experience.
Without hyperbole, this was one of the most fun weeks of my life, and even better, I learned more about journalism than I ever could have anticipated.
I deeply enjoyed the workshops, where we exposed a fictitious corrupt mayor and heinous grammatical errors while learning how to use professional-grade cameras.
I loved playing card games and having a water balloon fight with my fellow students and the RAs.
I started out groaning at the “dam” puns on signs all over campus (it wouldn’t surprise me if Reser Stadium debuted a “Welcome to Dam Nation” slogan next year), but it’s now become endearing to me.
Even the food has brought memorable moments. The lack of food options for a vegetarian like me meant that I had to turn to alternative means of satiating my hunger, like eating two bananas simultaneously, one in each hand—which was apparently hilarious to my friends.
It seems like something great happened every day as I continually stepped out of my comfort zone and came to enjoy it.
I’m so grateful to my mentor, Nik Streng, for his guidance throughout writing a profile and then a feature. He taught me a lot about the process of journalism, all while being one of the funniest people in the room (and “Wong’s long-lost brother,” according to at least one student at this institute).
This institute has genuinely been awesome from start to finish, and I can’t wait for our newspaper to be released!
— Karthik Krishnamurthy, Westview High School
This story was produced by a student reporter 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.