Journalism Class Meets Alumni for Group Interview
There has been a lot of disappointment for recent alumni and students this year. But Journalism teacher Mrs. Leah Genuario came up with a fun idea to incorporate her class and some alumni just in time for the Thanksgiving Alumni Chapel.
In an uneventful year, the Journalism class has been struggling to gather interviews for articles, but on November 25, Mrs. Genuario invited some of her past students to interview with the class while remembering the traditional Alumni Thanksgiving Chapel that happens the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break.
The high school students and teachers went remote for the week before Thanksgiving due to a positive COVID case. The Journalism Class, along with Mrs. Genuario, wanted to keep this last week fun before break, thus starting the daily online screenshot. These were pictures of the class’ google meet while doing creative things.
On the last day before break, Mrs. Genuario wanted to do something extra special, and she thought it would be fun to include some Alumni, as that Wednesday would have been the alumni Thanksgiving chapel. “So an idea hit me that we could do something fun right before Thanksgiving that would also be functional for our journalism class,” she says.
Mrs. Genuario reached out to some of her former students through Instagram where she invited them to a Zoom meeting. A little less than 20 alumni joined the meet, making it a full house! The Journalism class was overwhelmed with the positive response.
“It was really uplifting for me to hear from our young alumni and to see the ways God is using them and also to see them develop new talents, experience and skills,” comments Mrs. Genuario.
The Journalism class then asked interview questions and recorded the stories of the former students. “Great journalism, distilled to its essence, is great storytelling,” says Mrs. Genuario. “When done well and with integrity, stories serve to educate, inform and inspire.” With help from the alumni, the current Journalism students can achieve great journalism, plus, they took an amazing daily screenshot with them!
“Many young people are really an inspiration to all generations and are capable of great things,” says Mrs. Genuario. “I'm grateful to be part of their lives, even in a small way. And I am also excited to play a role in sharing their stories.”