These are proud times indeed, for the Grants High School journalism program.
As students from GHS enter into this partnership with the Cibola Citizen, ultimately a commitment to showcase student journalism in a real-life format, I’m reminded of my own beginnings as a print journalist.
My first taste came as a writer for the TVI Times…yes, the Technical/ Vocational Institute that is now Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque.
The rush of the deadline, the excitement of chasing down a quote and then seeing my work in print proved to be turning points on a personal and professional level.
Now, I’m seeing that rush and excitement in the students’ faces, whose work fills these pages.
The writing you will read and the photos you will see are all done by students; stories are lightly edited for content to provide ongoing journalistic instruction and feedback to the students. They take class time and their own personal time to complete the work, just like our student photographers do.
And, their deadlines are firm, just like they would be in a real-world situation.
The GHS Career/Technical programs exist to hopefully present these sorts of opportunities across the board, and thankfully the Cibola Citizen has provided this chance for GHS studentjournalists to hone their craft before they ever leave high school.
We don’t take this chance lightly, and we are just getting started.
Next month, Citizen readers will see an entire student-produced newspaper, and that publication will feature work from GHS students and also work from students at Laguna-Acoma and Early College High Schools.
For now, and into the beyond, you will continue to see content from GHS student journalists, in the sports section but also across the various sections of the Citizen.
There will be more proud moments to come, and we are glad to share them with this community. Mr. Gonzales can be reached at ronald.gonzales@gccs.k12.nm.us