Every fall, Fenton High sends several members from publications classes to downtown Lansing for the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Fall Conference. According to msu.edu, MIPA is a nonprofit organization housed in the Michigan State University School of Journalism and is composed of Michigan scholastic teachers, advisers and their students. Aside from hosting a fall conference and spring awards ceremony, this program recognizes excellence in journalism at all levels through training, support and the education of their members.
On Oct. 22, FHS had 31 students between yearbook and newspaper bussed to the Lansing Center where they attended four sessions throughout the day. These sessions were led by various publication professionals from across the state. Many of these speakers were from the Michigan State School of Journalism, though MIPA also brought in guests from the profession and other colleges and high schools to speak about their experiences and provide feedback to students.
Publications adviser Bethany Hoover has been taking her publication classes to this conference since she first took on the role in 2019: “Attending the MIPA Fall Conference is invaluable for students in the publications program.” Hoover said, “MIPA provides us the chance to network with other student journalists, engage in hands-on sessions led by media experts and explore the latest in journalistic skills, from editing and design to photography and multimedia storytelling.”
Aside from learning new journalistic techniques, students also had the opportunity to attend leadership sessions to learn skills that will benefit the classroom dynamic.
Fenton InPrint’s Editor in Chief (EIC) senior Ariana Papcun attended a leadership session led by Jostens representative, Rianne Price.
“I decided to attend the leadership session because I am a leader for the Fenton newspaper; I’m the EIC this year,” Papcun said. “I learned how to communicate well with students, how to guide them and how to be a good leader.”
Senior Brennan Crandall is a second year photographer on the yearbook staff and has attended MIPA’s fall conference for the past two years.
“I’ve been able to develop my photography skills through MIPA because I’m exposed to different students and advisers,” Crandall said. “They have helped me learn new methods and skills towards creating better photos for the yearbook.” FHS Publications plans to continue attending the MIPA Fall Conference in years to come. If students are interested in joining either the yearbook or newspaper staff, contact Hoover at [email protected] or stop by room 5-109 for further information.
