On Thursday, September 15 , students under the collective banner of Talon Student Media attended Journalism Day or “J-Day” on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins.  Students from yearbook and Talon Student Media  boarded a bus at 5:30 AM, and by 8:30, they were in Fort Collins.“I’m a morning person, so waking up early wasn’t hard for me. I didn’t mind it that much.” Aleksandr Christ (10) said, adding “I was asleep for half of it, but the bus ride was good.”

Students began the day by attending an opening ceremony followed by multiple workshops. Sitting in on the “New Tech for Video Storytelling” workshop, a packed room of student journalists from all over Colorado got to observe the most useful tools for video production in technology today. “It was cool seeing all of the equipment and learning about all of the expensive cameras. But they also told us about some less-expensive stuff. Filmmaking doesn’t need a lot of money,” said Austin Zens (11). Other workshops included Writing for Broadcast, Best of Design, and How to Cover Tragedy.

“My favorite part about J-Day overall was talking to other members of yearbook.” Oliver Cecil (9) said, “It’s really cool to see that other people are interested in the same things that I’m interested in.” Students were also offered the opportunity to chat with other yearbook, broadcast and journalism students from across the state. This experience was both a social event and an educational opportunity.

“I have wanted to take kids to J-Day for several years now but transportation was always an issue. I was able to secure a charter bus last spring” said Jo Powell, Yearbook and Talon Media adviser. During the afternoon awards session, Pine Creek was recognized with two awards, the All-Colorado Award (highest level) for Talon yearbook 2022 and Award of Commendation (mid-level) for the Talon Media website.