letter from the editor
Welcome to the Urban Voice! This publication of Marquette University’s Urban Journalism Workshop represents the culmination of two weeks of intense training in journalism and digital media news gathering, along with the hard work and successful storytelling by the talented young people in our program.
This year's student cohorts came to us from different Midwestern high schools; many of them from the Milwaukee area and a few from neighboring states, including Michigan and Illinois. Some were a little green and timid when they came to UJW, while others were more outgoing and ready to dive smack-dab into the world of journalism. Nevertheless, all were excited about taking this journey, even though they didn’t fully know where it might take them.
It was both an exciting and challenging journey for me as a new instructor to UJW. Although neither the students nor I knew exactly what to expect, one thing we knew for sure was we were going to get through this together. I was grateful to have the guidance and assistance of UJW Director Sheena Carey and the support of Marquette's wonderful faculty and staff.
With the UJW reporting teams in place, it was time to get to work. After three days of learning about photography, video, blogging, and social media among other things related to media, we sent our teams out to cover some of the most prominent and successful leaders in Milwaukee. These are people whom your average high school student would not normally meet.
From their interviews with local leaders, students learned about leadership in a such areas as business, law enforcement, philanthropy; social services, youth development, urban agriculture, academics, and athletics. But they also learned much more: What it takes to be a strong leader and the importance of education, dedication and hard work to success, which are important attributes for young people competing in today’s marketplace.
Quite naturally, the interviewing and news gathering were the fun parts of the journalism process for most of our students, but the writing, multiple revisions, additional reporting and research were the agonizing parts of the workshop for most everyone. Heaven knows we had our share of late nights.
Nevertheless, judging by the wonderful work that our students ultimately produced, not to mention all the fun they had visiting local attractions like Summerfest, Jazz in the Park and the Brewer's game, it was a worthwhile venture for everyone involved.
Now, it is my pleasure to present the 2015 edition of the Urban Voice.
Tannette Johnson-Elie
Editor-in-Chief
This year's student cohorts came to us from different Midwestern high schools; many of them from the Milwaukee area and a few from neighboring states, including Michigan and Illinois. Some were a little green and timid when they came to UJW, while others were more outgoing and ready to dive smack-dab into the world of journalism. Nevertheless, all were excited about taking this journey, even though they didn’t fully know where it might take them.
It was both an exciting and challenging journey for me as a new instructor to UJW. Although neither the students nor I knew exactly what to expect, one thing we knew for sure was we were going to get through this together. I was grateful to have the guidance and assistance of UJW Director Sheena Carey and the support of Marquette's wonderful faculty and staff.
With the UJW reporting teams in place, it was time to get to work. After three days of learning about photography, video, blogging, and social media among other things related to media, we sent our teams out to cover some of the most prominent and successful leaders in Milwaukee. These are people whom your average high school student would not normally meet.
From their interviews with local leaders, students learned about leadership in a such areas as business, law enforcement, philanthropy; social services, youth development, urban agriculture, academics, and athletics. But they also learned much more: What it takes to be a strong leader and the importance of education, dedication and hard work to success, which are important attributes for young people competing in today’s marketplace.
Quite naturally, the interviewing and news gathering were the fun parts of the journalism process for most of our students, but the writing, multiple revisions, additional reporting and research were the agonizing parts of the workshop for most everyone. Heaven knows we had our share of late nights.
Nevertheless, judging by the wonderful work that our students ultimately produced, not to mention all the fun they had visiting local attractions like Summerfest, Jazz in the Park and the Brewer's game, it was a worthwhile venture for everyone involved.
Now, it is my pleasure to present the 2015 edition of the Urban Voice.
Tannette Johnson-Elie
Editor-in-Chief