This week, the students in Intro to Journalism write a narrative for a contest hosted by The New York Times, a tiny memoir about a “true story about a meaningful life experience” containing only 100 words or less. This contest is from Oct. 4th – Nov. 1st for students worldwide from ages 13-19. Students in the Journalism class were assigned to write for the contest on Monday, Oct. 9th, and didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Stephanie Rathgeber is the teacher of many classes, including Intro to Journalism, Senior English, and Creative Writing. She also directs the school Newspaper and School Yearbook. 

One day earlier in the month, Rathgeber checked out The Learning Center, a teaching resource center attached to The New York Times, using her subscription, noticing the narrative contest, and couldn’t help to read the narratives from 2022. She really liked the stories but wishes The New York Times would post the runner-ups.

“I always look for writing contests, and I saw that one pop up, and I thought it was very unique, but it would also be something that students wouldn’t feel overwhelmed with because it’s just 100 words.”

She thought of the students when imagining the students’ writing pieces, using words including, “quick,” and “makes it interesting,” (the narrative). 

“I have really enjoyed reading the ones that my Intro to Journalism has done, they’ve been very heartfelt and very personal, and so sometimes it’s hard to tell some of those types of stories, and I have been very impressed by the willingness of students to tell really authentic personal stories.” 

Rathgeber enjoyed reading these narratives from these students and offered the contest to her yearbook and Senior classes if they wanted it. She mentioned,

“I had a number of them that needed some bonus points, and thought this would be a really cool way to earn some bonus points.”

When reading these narratives, she has noticed that students have used a poetic form

“I find that the students having the easiest time, are the students who are writing about really hard and difficult things because the emotions of those things are very big. And so, it’s easier to remember really specific details in those very emotional moments of life. But I have some that are much more pleasant. I’ve seen a lot about, you know, social issues, issues within the families, I’ve seen some moving from state to state, and just monumental milestones.” 

On Friday the 13th, students in Intro to Journalism must turn this in for a chance to win the contest.