Troy University’s student publications held their annual bootcamp on Monday and Tuesday. The event featured workshops, networking and planning for the year ahead.
The Tropolitan, TROY’s student newspaper, and the Palladium, TROY’s yearbook, convened to get on the same page before classes began on Wednesday.
“In general it’s always nice to give everybody a refresher, which is needed heading into the semester,” said Hanna Cooper, the faculty advisor for the Tropolitan and a lecturer in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication. “We also try to attract incoming freshmen and transfer students to show them the lay of the land when it comes to student publications.”
Workshops helped students learn the basics of all things journalism: writing, interviewing, etiquette, design and photography were just some of the topics covered.
“It was very educational,” said Simon Brown, a junior broadcast journalism major from Hoover. “My favorite workshop was (Dr. Stefanie East’s) on interviewing.”
“For example, one thing that I learned from her was the concept of avoiding ‘shotgun barrel’ questions and keeping questions concise,” he said.
The event helped new students like Brown – who transferred from the University of North Alabama – get plugged in and meet Hall School of Journalism and Communications faculty, section editors and student staff for the publications.
“I was able to meet fellow students that I hadn’t met before,” Brown said. “It was nice to meet faces that I’ll be working with.”
In addition to learning, students got the chance to meet community leaders during Tuesday’s leadership breakfast. Both Troy University faculty and prominent figures – such as Troy Mayor Jason Reeves – were at the event.
“There’s no doubt that putting students in front of university leadership and community leadership is beneficial for students to know who they are,” Cooper said. “One of the greatest benefits is to show leaders first-hand how impressive our students are.”
Representatives from the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, TROY Athletics and TROY’s Office of University Relations held a panel where students were able to ask questions about a variety of topics.
The event wasn’t completely focused on news writing. Workshops also highlighted topics like sports reporting and photography.
“Having special interest sessions like photography and design are helpful for people that don’t just want to write,” Cooper said. “Getting to see the other aspects of what we do is important.”
