Thirty students from the Santa Barbara Unified School District attended the fall JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The event took place over the past weekend and included more than 5,000 student journalists from across the country. The Santa Barbara group included 19 students from Dos Pueblos High School, six from Santa Barbara High School, and five from San Marcos High School.
During the three-day convention, students joined workshops on broadcast news, reporting, sports media, design, and storytelling. These sessions aimed to help students improve their school publications and learn from professionals. San Marcos High School, with adviser Lara Willbanks, used the event to support its journalism program and its new Arts, Media, and Entertainment CTE pathway.
Student leaders commented on the experience. Aurora Ivanova, editor-in-chief of King’s Page, said it was valuable to meet other students interested in media and journalism. Ashley Mendoza, yearbook editor at Santa Barbara High, said the sessions and professional speakers gave her new ideas for her work and future plans…