Leadership & Teambuilding
Being an editor all three years I have been on staff has taught me so much about leadership. Although it was sometimes intimidating going up to a senior to give back my edits when I was only a sophomore, it taught me how to treat everyone as my equal and how to communicate with my peers. Along with communicating with my peers, I have learned how to communicate with adults of all statuses. When first going into the principal’s office for an interview, I was so nervous. He was of such high authority. Now as a senior, not only do I feel comfortable talking to Dr. Tiemann and all other administrators but they now know me on a more personal level. I was even invited to be on the Principal Advisory Board to give a student’s insight into issues in the school. I would not have had that opportunity without journalism. In addition to being a representative on the Principal Advisory Board, I am also President of Key Club and a National Honors Society officer. I have always considered myself to be a leader, but going into high school, I didn’t imagine being so involved within my school. Being a leader in different extracurriculars has shown me how to communicate with others and not be afraid to share my mind.
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Most of the staff are enrolled in Advanced Journalism for the whole year. That being said, we all form a tight-knit bond with each other. At the beginning of class each day, we come together to discuss story ideas or what’s going on in the current news. Meeting at the beginning of class allows us to come together before breaking off into workgroups. When looking around the room, collaboration is evident. Although those working on written stories work individually, writers are still collaborating: no one on staff is afraid to ask more experienced students for help. On a staff of around 30 students, it’s rare to see everyone get along so well. Although I may be biased, I believe my staff and I represent Millard West in the best ways possible. To my surprise, the class runs smoothly every day. It’s organized chaos as student-journalists are constantly in and out of the classroom for their stories. We all work together as a team. And to acknowledge each other’s achievements, we like to show off awards throughout the classroom. One thing I love that we do is when a student wins an award of any sort for their work, they get to add a paint sample on the whiteboard. As you can see, it is a little over halfway full. At the end of the year, we have a colorful portion of the wall that reflects all of our achievements. In addition, above where I sit, we display everyone’s Best of SNO awards. We’re starting to run out of room on our wall which is a great problem to have.
Every week, my advisor writes down everyone's stories
These are all of our Best of SNO awards on display
These are all of our awards written on color swatches
Although my staff and I do not have outings (it would be hard with so many students), we do go on class trips. Whether it’s going to UNL or UNO for a state-wide convention or traveling out of state for a convention, the staff always grows as friends and journalists when getting out of the classroom. I have been to two JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Conventions, and after each, I always feel so much closer to my staff. Conventions are such a great way to bond with my fellow student-journalists. When coming back from any convention, students who went to the event always seem to be more motivated when it comes to their work and helping others. I know when I go to national conventions, I try to go to sessions about leadership and teambuilding. When I come back, I always feel like I need to make more of an effort to connect to my staff, thus, I start putting forth more effort. I know the 2019-2020 online editors went to countless sessions at the most recent JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Washington DC about how to have a bigger social media presence and how to better our website. After that, we began to receive more SNO awards for our website. Conventions are so important for teambuilding because not only does it give the class a chance to bond, but it teaches them how to become a better journalist.
