Ten students from the private school in Guilford County spent a week at Elon’s School of Communications, gaining hands-on experience with reporting, storytelling and ethical decision-making inside a working newsroom.
By the end of their week at Elon University, Greensboro Day School students weren’t just writing stories – they were asking better questions, seeing the world through other people’s perspectives, and thinking more carefully about the role of ethics in everyday life.
As part of the college preparatory school’s annual Winter Term experience – a five-day immersive January program that replaces traditional classes with single-course study — 10 high school students explored the fundamentals of journalism at Elon’s School of Communications. The group worked inside the Elon News Network newsroom, pitching story ideas, interviewing sources, writing ledes, editing copy and producing visual content while learning how professional journalists approach storytelling, newsgathering and responsibility.
The hands-on work was designed to build more than technical skills.
“Beyond improved writing skills, I really hope that students will leave this course with a deep understanding of what it means to be a journalist and a consumer of news,” said Estelle Bowden, Greensboro Day School’s director of media services and learning innovation. “I hope they begin to consume news with the question of ‘what else’ at the forefront of their minds.”
The visit was coordinated by Bowden in partnership with Elon journalism faculty members Kelly Furnas and Colin Donohue – with all three handling classroom instruction. For many students, the week offered a first glimpse of college-level learning – and for some, a preview of what’s next.
For Maddy Girsch, a Greensboro Day School senior who will enroll at Elon this fall as a digital content management major, the experience offered an early look at college instruction and the industries she plans to pursue.
“I was really excited to meet professors I’ll be learning from and to understand the different aspects of the communications field,” Girsch said. “Even though I’m not specifically interested in journalism, this experience has given me a new perspective and helped me see how these skills can apply across communications.”
While Girsch used the week to explore her future, other students came in with journalism already on their minds. Joining Girsch was Kadin Crawford, a junior who has long been interested in news reporting. Yet, his week at Elon helped him see what he could do in the field in new ways.
“I thought taking a picture was just snapping a photo,” Crawford said. “But learning about composition, cropping and how images help tell a story really surprised me.”
He said one of the biggest lessons was learning to tell stories from someone else’s point of view.
“You’re not just writing how you see something,” Crawford said. “You’re telling someone else’s story. If you don’t understand their perspective, then there’s no purpose in writing it.”
That kind of growth – learning to listen, observe and think differently – is exactly what Bowden hoped to spark when she first imagined the program, which grew out of her own experience as a student journalist, as well as an Elon campus visit that left her “blown away.”
“Being a part of my high school’s newspaper was a formative experience,” Bowden recalled. “Our school does not currently have a newspaper, and several students have expressed an interest in starting one. I saw this as an opportunity to support that goal.”
She said Elon was the natural partner after learning about current students thriving in the school’s academic programs and student media organizations.
“Partnering with experts, especially given how long it’s been since I’ve been a student journalist, was a personal requirement when I proposed this course,” Bowden said.
From the beginning, Bowden knew the course had to be about more than just writing stories. Ethics anchors the program and mirrors Greensboro Day School’s Honor Code and Four Cornerstones — Respect, Integrity, Responsibility and Kindness. According to Bowden, these virtues are ingrained in all school activities.
“I believe that by deepening their understanding of ethics as it applies to journalism, students will begin to consume and produce news differently,” Bowden said. “It is important that they develop habits that allow them to not just take a story at face value, but to evaluate their news through an ethical lens.”
She credited Furnas and Donohue with shaping the experience.
“This has been a wonderful collaboration,” Bowden said. “From the very first email, Colin and Kelly have been so willing to help us in any way that they can. They really want the students to succeed, and they have been incredibly accommodating – from building the curriculum to welcoming our students into their space.”
That enthusiasm went both ways. At the conclusion of the week, Donohue noted that the Greensboro Day School students weren’t the only ones to benefit from the weeklong instruction.
“Working with these students has been incredibly energizing,” said Donohue, who visited the school’s Guilford County campus last week. “They asked thoughtful questions, pushed themselves creatively and showed a real commitment to understanding not just how journalism works, but why it matters.”