My Senior Year Experience with Journalism

268 days ago (with weekends and holidays included) was the first day of my senior year. It was also one of my hardest years to where I had to push myself to do the best I did. With three AP’s and two honors classes, I had no idea what challenges this school year was going to be for me. The way my schedule came out, I would probably say that it was one of my favorite schedules that I was able to have because I was able to have one of my favorite classes (do not tell my other teachers, but if they see this, you all still hold a part in my heart) be one of my last class of the day. That class being journalism.

Every day I was able to learn something new in this class. Being in journalism showed ways for me to make a difference in my community and people’s lives with my writing. I don’t plan to pursue a reporting career, but the skills that I’ve learned from my journalism education – reaching out to different kinds of people, writing clearly and concisely, pitching original ideas – are ones I can use in any field in the future. I found journalism something different than all my other English classes from the past four years being at Pennridge High School. It wasn’t your normal “read a book and take a test on it”. This was more of a research, apply, then impact the community on your writings. Some more deadlines and expectations had to be met; this class always kept you on the edge of your seat. It made me want to learn; it’s what made me want to stay in school to finish the day in Mrs. Gordienko’s class.

It has been rare for me to be in the loving-environment of a class. Usually, I always have at least one class like that every year, and honestly, journalism was that class this year. Everyone ended up being so comfortable with each other and being so close with the teacher had made the learning experience 100x’s better. Mrs. Gordienko was almost like a journalism-mother to her students. She cared about every single one of us and had kept us together as a class. Don’t get me wrong, we still had fun, but she taught us the right time to have fun in a busy setting. She taught us the basics as well as in-depth information on the world of journalism. She provided information that gave us knowledge as well as knowing how to write in a journalism setting that I will continue to use in the future. The support in journalism was something I have never seen before. Since we were all so close, we were able to support one another through anything. When it came to presenting or just talking in class, there was never a time where someone didn’t support anyone in what they were talking about.

Overall journalism was that last boost in my life to make me become the person I am. With the amount of love, support, and knowledge from the class itself, I can bring it with me through my next journey as I continue my education at Temple University. As I said earlier, I am not majoring in journalism, but the skills I gained through this course will help me succeed, and bring me out of my comfort zone to where I am not afraid to talk to people. I’m not afraid to show my creative side to an audience when it comes to writing and speaking concisely and effectively. As I’m waiting to go out into the real world, deep down I will miss journalism. Corona, you took it away from me too soon.