Crowded around the TV in the third-floor lounge of Broward Hall, about 30 high school students spent their last night as a group singing hits from both “High School Musical,” Queen and the karaoke classic “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Camper Olivia Fiss, 16, said the friendships and memories she made would be just two of the many things from camp that she would be carrying with her for a while.

“It was just fun to be all in one room together for the last night and cherish the friendships, “ Fiss said. “I felt like we were unified.”

This past week, about 115 incoming high school freshmen through incoming seniors bonded together over a common interest: journalism and communications. These students spent three, five or even eight days hearing from professors, working in the newsrooms and crafting their own stories, as they took over the College during the CJC Summer Institute and Pro Workshop.

Public relations professor and Frank and Betsy Karel Endowed Chair Ann Christiano introduced the campers to idea of communicating for social change through the developing field of public interest communications. Professor Norm Lewis spoke with them about big data and journalism, while they received interviewing tips sprinkled with sports metaphors from journalism professor and department chair, Ted Spiker.

The first five nights of the experience were the CJC Summer Institute. During this time, students attended keynotes and lectures as a camp in the morning, and in the evening, they picked from a variety of electives to tailor their experience to their individual interests.

The final three days of camp were the Pro Workshop where 58 students chose to focus on one of three topics: TV News Reporting and On-Air, Video/Photo/Mobile Production or Writing. They traveled in groups all over campus for interviews with people including UAA officials and the UF Historian. By Sunday, the students had crafted their own stories.

Phillip Bootsma, 17, attended both portions of the camp. He said that the CJC Summer Institute portion was a lot more relaxed and he learned about different theories and practices, while the Pro Workshop taught him how to put those practices to work.

“I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, but this has helped me narrow down what I want to do, and it taught me a lot of skills to be successful,” he said.

Being a part of the CJC Summer Institute, the campers spend their time not only exploring the college, but also exploring other aspects of the campus. They were treated to a week preview of what college life is actually like. Each night was spent living in the dorms, and they had their meals at Gator Corner Dining.

Landon Weeks, 17, said he sees the camp as a really immersive experience into college life and the world of journalism.

“It’s probably my favorite eight days of the whole year,” said Weeks. “You can’t have a favorite part to something, where every part was the best.”

—Jaclyn De Bonis, 4JM

Posted: July 2, 2015
Category: College News
Tagged as: High School Programs, Outreach, Summer Institute