THE YOUNG ONES OF JOURNALISM

There was a time I felt torn between two dreams—psychology or journalism. I was passionate about both, but life had other plans. Due to financial constraints and limited options in my province, I chose psychology. Although I was grateful, a part of me mourned the journalism path I couldn’t take—until, unexpectedly, I was accepted as a student journalist during my first year in college.

Whenever I hear my name spoken in front of students and teachers and recognize my contribution as a speaker for journalism, I always offer that achievement to my old self who dreamt of being a journalist. This field has granted my childish dream of telling news and crafting stories for those who want to listen. It is now my training ground for everything that I would encounter as an adult in the future, and even if I don’t have a debt, I owe my life to it.

One of the major roles of a student journalist that needs major preparation is conducting journalism seminars and workshops in different schools. We had already conducted seminars in three schools, and the third one would be the topic of this blog. It was a seminar held in the sister school of my college and was composed of brilliant high school students. And believe me or not, after the seminar, I couldn’t get rid of the idea that they are the young ones of journalism and the future.

We had a two-day seminar for high school students who aspired to be competitors for the upcoming division press conference and to be members of their growing publication. We tried our best to cover everything from news writing to photojournalism. Since we had invited a resource speaker, only three of us had the chance to be speakers for the seminar. I was tasked to discuss photojournalism since it is now my job to take the role of photojournalist after our former member left. Luckily, I had knowledge and received training in photojournalism, so it was a fruitful discussion.

We started the day by providing name tags for the participants and having them registered. I also had to talk about the seminar with the resource speaker, who is the author of the Isang Daan book and was my teacher when I was in senior high school. Journalism is a small world for us that I was shocked when I learned the speaker was also a former member of our publication and later became the adviser after he graduated. It felt like we were connected for a long time but just overlooked each other.

The first day covered news and editorial writing. We were shocked when a teacher we didn’t know brought a lot of students to the seminar right after we started and didn’t register them. We could have been frustrated but chose not to be, because these young ones will continue the words we are trying to carve in them. The resource speaker was so well-spoken that no audience got bored during the two days they rendered. He was ridiculous, satirical, and humanistic—and that made him interesting to the ears of the
students.

Every discussion ended with a workshop that lasted about an hour and a half. Students were tasked to craft articles under a given topic, and looking at their determination in crafting those news and editorials assures me that journalism will persevere amidst the challenges brought by the rise of social media. They are the young warriors of literature and journalism—brave as knights, willing to take risks just to speak and echo the truth.

We handled the whole program, including the food, and they were so happy to receive McDonald's for lunch and afternoon snacks. I had the chance to talk with the students, including their experiences in journalism and the challenges they have faced. One of the answers that made me frustrated was the status of their organization as a dependent one, controlled by their heads. It was just ironic to produce a group of student journalists, but their institution is the one who silences them and lessens their freedom. But the students told me that the fire burning in them will never fade and that they would continue bringing the facts into the public. Imagine how passionate they are to speak for journalism and practice the values of true journalists.

You would never expect children, in heights of 4'11 or smaller, to be big dreamers. From the discussion to their eagerness to learn in the workshop, the young ones of today are the true hope of the voices of the public. We ended day one with a photo opportunity and left the school to have our rest.

The second and last day was the same as what happened at the commencement of the seminar. What made it different was the poignant feeling of ending it. We had formed connections with the students, laughed with them during lunch, and saw their interest in journalism whenever they were tasked to write or take photos. Personally, I didn’t want to end the seminar because I wanted to teach them every day until they were honed like pens. But that’s the bittersweet feeling of being a passerby—you teach them and let them grow without your presence.

We ended the seminar with the giving of certificates to the participants and the speaker, and after that, the students were free to leave. I was just surprised that not all of them left early and chose to talk with us before it got dark. I had fun talking to them—it gave me a lot of assurance that they will continue what we taught and pass their knowledge to the next ones. In their words, I felt the same passion that once lit me to carve my path. And in that moment of feeling it, I knew—my dream and role as a student journalist did not end; it simply found its new people.

Before we left the school and said our last goodbye, we softly uttered a wish for next invitation.

And guess what? We received a news today that we will conduct another seminar to another school next week. See you and may you read my next narrative!