2013 Show Me ILPC Writing Winner

by Hejab Khan, The Colony High School, The Colony, TX.

As the infamous, dry Texas heat poured into the city of Austin, student journalists and their advisers eagerly poured onto the University of Texas campus, clutching stenographer's pads and black ink pens, ready to seize every opportunity to learn the ins and outs of journalism from the best across the country. College students looked around perplexed, wondering why so many high school students were scuttling around their campus. It's not every day that high school journalists invade the UT campus, but the 86th annual Interscholastic League Press Conference was an exception.

Names like Bobby Hawthorne and Scott Winter were among those that appeared in the ILPC program. They'd come from across the country to mentor students on ethics, basic journalistic style and how to increase the productivity of a school publication.

"I've been in journalism forever, and every time I go to ILPC, I learn something new," newspaper adviser Janet Shideler said. "There's always something you can improve and some way you can grow. The speakers there really know what they're talking about."

Shideler advises The Pawprint Newspaper at The Colony High School. She took four students along with her to Austin to give them a great learning experience.

"I had a blast," junior Heidi Landa said. "Austin is so pretty and there are so many cool things to do. The classes taught me a lot and went a lot more in-depth than we have time for in class."

Landa plans to go again next year, and hopes to learn even more. She was accompanied by her friends sophomore Alondra Ramirez, senior Becky Woldekidan and junior Hejab Khan. One of their favorite sessions was one hosted by Scott Winter.

"Scott Winter's session on multimedia allowed me to learn so many new things," Woldekidan said. "There are so many programs I hadn't heard about and I hope we can find a way to use them and improve our paper."

Woldekidan and Landa are both on the newspaper staff, unlike Ramirez, who joined the group at the spur of the moment, with no prior commitment.

"I just got the permission slip signed the day before and packed that night," she said. "I'm glad I went. It was a great experience. I'm hoping to become a better photographer."

Ramirez takes Shideler's photojournalism class instead. On the trip, she took countless pictures of the capitol building, the scenery in Austin, and the street life.
"It was a great opportunity to take some cool pictures," she said. "The heat was crazy, but I'm really glad I went."

Khan, who is editor of The Pawprint, returned to ILPC for the second time.

"Just as expected, I had a ton of fun," she said. "ILPC is one of the best trips I've taken all year, and I feel like every time I have, I'm one step closer to satisfying my thirst to become a great journalist."