MINNEAPOLIS — Harker journalism editors hosted four sessions about various journalism topics at the spring Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association National High School Journalism Convention in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday.

Harker Aquila Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Xie (11), section editors Aileen Jang (10), Kanav Gupta (10), Liana Barooah (10) and Shreyas Karnam (10), led the first presentation on Friday, “67 Ways to Bond,” explaining how members of journalism publications can bond with each other, whether through collaborative board games or production nights. The session garnered approximately 70 attendees, filling up almost every seat in the room.

Humans of Harker (HoH) Editors-in-Chief Heather Wang (11) and Victoria Li (11), HoH Managing Editor Sam Li (11) and Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Claire Tian (11) presented “Humans of [Your School]” on Friday. The HoH publication is a feature-style project to spotlight the members of the senior class in their own articles. They then described the interviewing process and outlined the logistics for planning publication deadlines, as well as providing suggestions to other journalists and advisers who hope to create a similar publication in their own schools. 

Sam appreciates not only how HoH offers an opportunity to spotlight individuals in the senior class but also the process behind crafting each unique profile. 

“I really love exploring the Humans of Harker storytelling because of the profile writing process and getting in-depth interviews,” Sam said. “ Something I noticed about the previous ‘Humans of [Your School]’ at the CSPA Convention is that it was photography-centered. Photography is not the only part, so I emphasized the interviewing, writing and publishing aspects.”

Former Aquila Editors-in-Chief Lily Shi (12) and Eva Cheng (12), along with Aileen, Liana, Kanav and Shreyas led “Celebrate the Silver Lining” on Saturday. Their session explained how to navigate difficult topics and find positives amidst unexpected challenges, emphasizing the importance of remaining impartial while reporting. 

“Before, I just saw tough losses for what they were,” Grace said. “But going into the presentation and actually thinking about how to have well-rounded reporting despite disappointment gave me a different perspective because it taught me that there are always highlights in these situations. Presenting helped me with my reporting skills, but it also helped me to change my perspective on uncomfortable topics in general. 

Winged Post Editor-in-Chief Chelsea Xie (11), former Winged Post Managing Editor Emma Li (12), Aquila Managing Editor Leah Krupnik (11) and former Aquila Managing Editor Suhani Gupta (12) delivered “Rework Your Flow,” a new addition to Harker’s cycle of workshops. They talked about optimal organization of staff and techniques for effective deadline management.    

Attendee Stefanie Monzon, assistant Design Editor of Saint Francis High School’s yearbook, the Poverello, hopes to use a communication system similar to that of Aquila on Slack.  

“I thought it was really interesting how you guys both communicate with and also hold accountability for your staff members,” Stefanie said. “One of our problems is people not getting things done when they need to get done, so I find it really cool how you guys are able to crack down on that, but also keep a good community with Slack.” 

Attendee Ryan Tolbert, a journalism adviser at Hickman High School in Columbia, Mo., enjoyed Harker’s community-driven journalistic approach and how it can apply to programs of all sizes.

“The workflow process is what really attracted me, but I think the overall community and culture of Harker is what’s really keeping me here,” Tolbert said. “That’s what I’m gonna try to emulate as I go back to my school because our program is much smaller than Harker — I only have six kids, but they’re capable and very talented. We just need to direct our talent more sometimes, and the presentation showed a very clear way to do that.”