The 12-day residential journalism workshop supports rising high school seniors interested in pursuing careers in journalism and communications.
Elon University and the School of Communications will welcome its fourth Emerging Journalists Program Immersion cohort to campus on Monday, June 16, to kick off 12 days of hands-on journalism instruction. The 18 high school students will arrive to Elon from eight states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
“This year’s Emerging Journalists Program cohort exemplifies the curiosity and drive we aim to cultivate,” said Kelly Furnas, EJP curriculum coordinator and senior lecturer in journalism. “Already as high school students, they’ve demonstrated an eagerness to engage with complex topics and foster a spirit of collaboration. I’m excited to see what they accomplish in our 12 days together.”
This year, the university is funding the program, allowing another group of students to develop and enhance their skills in reporting, writing, multimedia storytelling, leadership and media management. Beyond instruction, the students will collaborate as members of a working newsroom, producing professional web content, a newspaper and a television news broadcast, as well as tracking audience engagement metrics.
The Immersion experience also features several off-campus activities. The students’ schedule includes media tours of Trailblazer Studios in Raleigh and WTVD-TV in Durham. They will meet with state Rep. Reneé Price and members of the press corps at the North Carolina State Capitol, visit the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, and enjoy a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game.
“Helping direct this program has been a joy and privilege because of the committed and thoughtful students who have participated in the program,” said Colin Donohue, EJP program director and an assistant professor of journalism. “Working alongside these students is exciting. I’m comforted to know that the future of our field is strong, and I’m looking forward to meeting our next cohort.”
Students will earn four hours of college credit for completing the Immersion experience and be paired with an Elon student mentor, who will offer guidance and assistance as students work on their own projects back home and prepare their college applications.
The program, established in 2021, is designed to educate high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in journalism and the media industry. This year, 170 high schoolers from across the country applied to the program – a record number – and all were invited to participate in the virtual Exposure experience in the spring.
“Each year we set ambitious goals for what we want to teach and what we want students to accomplish during the Emerging Journalists Program,” Furnas said. “And each year our participants have exceeded those expectations. For the faculty and staff who run EJP, these are among the most inspiring and reinvigorating two weeks of the year.”