Media Students Touring MSU

On March 15 of this past week, a group of McCracken’s students from each school media department (yearbook, video, and journalism) got to take a trip to Murray State University for a college journalistic learning experience. I was one of the students who got to come along.

 The group left MCHS at 8 a.m. for the exciting hour-long drive. Upon arriving, we filed into an event room for the regional conference. Kids from multiple Paduchan schools attended, including St. Mary’s, Graves, Mayfield, and McCracken. Associate professor Leigh Wright introduced us to MSU’s many opportunities. As a freshman at McCracken, I’m so insanely grateful I got the opportunity to attend the conference. The school was extremely welcoming and inviting, making it an experience that felt completely natural and warming.

After Wright’s welcoming speech, there were a few different instructors that took groups of students through workshops, leading us through certain departments of journalism. They got to tour the campus and learn many tips from professional photographers and editors. The group I was in got to walk around with two school instructors who work in photography. They gave us advice on how to take high quality photos that tell stories and bring more detail to our articles. We learned about lighting, composition, and visual storytelling. We also got to see the beautiful architecture, statues, and people of Murray State. We even came across a group playing guitar together on the steps of a campus building. One of which passed on some kind insight to the group, stating “Trust me, College is where your life is really gonna take off. You have no idea how much fun this is going to be. I’m being honest!”. Here we got some great shots of their performance along with a nice conversation about college life. There was a fun contest at the end of our workshop in which one of McCracken’s own students, Jensen Fowler, placed in the top three winners.

Beyond the overall fun time we had, the trip gave us an up close look into what furthering an education, or even a job, in journalism would actually look like. We were around all sorts of other people who were actively pursuing it in their own way. Getting to learn on a college campus really made it feel all the more exciting. It was such an engaging experience for every student involved. Jaiden Herzog stated, “I really enjoyed being able to see what it would look like to actually go to college there. It was all so much fun but educational at the same time.”

When it comes to their journalism department, Murray State offers an extremely wide range of learning opportunities. There are all sorts of majors and courses we were told about. These courses include mass media, newswriting, reporting, and much much more. I myself have never been on a college campus before, but even as a high school student I felt very comfortable and belonging there. It was a wonderful first time. 

Overall, us students are so fortunate to have gotten this chance to see Murray’s journalism department, and exactly what a further path in our field would look like. It isn’t every day that you get to tour a college campus.