Being a journalist takes nerve, reporter Kent Pierce told more than 400 high school students from across Connecticut at SCSU’s High School Journalism Day Oct. 24.
From covering hurricanes to interviewing Connecticut National Guard troops about their training, Pierce, a WTNH-News 8 reporter, has a passion for journalism, even if the stories are difficult to share. He was the keynote speaker at the event.
“There have been a lot of sad stories,” Pierce said, “but there have been, I think, more stories that made me feel good than the sad ones.”
Pierce spoke about his experience covering Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and emphasized hands-on journalism as important for the world today.
“I found two stories every day about Connecticut people who would come down there to help the people affected by the hurricane,” Pierce said. “These people from Yale or ambulance drivers, crews repairing the infrastructure down there. Two different stories, all with Connecticut people a thousand miles away from there.”
Pierce reflected on how people show courage when doing what they believe is right.
“You’re talking about nerve? Yeah, that took some nerve for those folks to go all that distance, to help out strangers a thousand miles away,” Pierce said.
Pierce said showing up is one of the biggest parts of journalism — and joked that the high school students had “some nerve” just to show up that day.
Each year, the Journalism Department hosts an event designed to introduce high school students to the industry through workshops with Southern educators and professional journalists. This was the 40th annual High School Journalism Day at Southern.
High School Journalism Day featured two sessions — the first from 9 to 9:50 a.m., and the second from 10 to 10:50 a.m. The keynote address ran from 11 to noon. The event welcomed full- and part-time faculty from the Journalism Department, as well as the director of education and communications of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, Russell Blair, and the president of the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, Martha Shanahan.
Students had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops covering a wide range of journalism topics, including video editing tips, sports journalism, how to write articles and knowing your right to information.