Media is one of the various electives offered at Lowellville High School. According to the Lowellville Course Catalog, Media Communications is a course “designed to teach students the various forms of journalism, application, and analysis of media, as well as writing skills. Students will engage in multiple forms of media, with a strong focus in newspaper writing. This course is supplemental to the school newspaper, The Rocket Review and students are expected and required to contribute articles to the production of the paper in a professional and timely manner as befitting a newspaper.” The media elective is taught by Mrs. DeLuca and Mrs. Kerpsack.
Media students write one to two stories a month, and cover school events to post on social media regularly. The stories the students write are uploaded to the Rocket Review and the social media posts are uploaded to the school’s Facebook and Instagram. I feel having this class gives students and families a way to hear about information and events they may not know are going on around our school and community.
The media class also participates in a yearly field trip to Kent State University. This field trip gives students an opportunity to learn more about journalism from journalism professors. During the field trip students are able to connect with students from other schools to get real life experience and learn new things in media. “I look forward to this field trip every year, it is always a great experience for our students to learn more about media through real life experiences,” said Mrs. Kerpsack.
“This field trip gives students the opportunity to learn from other students and teachers. Journalism and media are so broad and this field trip gives students a lot of opportunities and ideas to bring into the class throughout the year,” said Mrs. DeLuca.
Media teacher Mrs. Kerpsack first started teaching this course four years ago. She initially started teaching this class when it was a more social media focused course. Later, she and Mrs. DeLuca were approached by Mr. Sammartino and Mrs. Parry to turn this course into a journalism based course. “My favorite part of teaching media is hearing the story and social media post ideas students come up with and being introduced to new books, music and trends by the students,” Mrs. Kerpsack said.
Freshman Luka Mastronikolas said he took this class to gain experience in journalism for his future career as a sports journalist or ESPN employee. Luka’s favorite story he has written in this course was his Super Bowl story.
Junior Josh Pazel said, “I enjoy having the freedom in this class to write about the things I enjoy.” He said the media class helps bring light to different aspects of school that may be overlooked.
Mrs. DeLuca also agrees that media gives students an opportunity to hear and read about topics they would not usually hear about without the media class. “The goal of media is to impact in a positive way and tell stories from the students’ perspectives,” she added.
Seniors Kenzie McCormick and Joslyn Delsignore are taking this course for the second time. Kenzie said she decided to take it for a second time because all of her senior friends were taking it and she thought it would be fun. Kenzie added, “I enjoy being able to write creatively.”
Joslyn Delsignore was inspired by this elective to major in journalism at Youngstown State University this fall. She said she realized when she took the course her sophomore year she really enjoyed writing journalism and excelled in it as well. Joslyn, like other students in this elective, agreed that she enjoys the freedom and creativity the media class gives students. “My favorite part of media is that it allows students to have a voice while writing about topics they enjoy while getting to read other students’ stories.”
This is my second time taking this course. Kenzie, Joslyn, and I all took the class during our sophomore year and have enjoyed having the opportunity to take it again. I enjoy this class for the creative aspects of it and sharing things I love. I also enjoy having a class with my favorite teachers and all of my friends.
Overall, Media is a great elective for anyone who has a passion for journalism. This course gives students real life experiences in the field of journalism. Media is essential to share the different events and activities going on in our community. Like band and choir, you can take this elective multiple times to gain more experience.
