Award-Winning UM Journalism School Offers Free Summer Camp
MISSOULA – The University of Montana School of Journalism will host a free three-day summer camp July 18-21 for high school students to explore and build media and journalism skills.
Students will stay on the scenic UM campus, learn from journalism faculty members, make connections with media professionals, explore the role of journalism in society and get hands-on experience in writing, reporting, photography, graphic design, social media and more.
Tuition, room and board are free for all accepted students thanks to UM’s Top-10 Hearst Award-winning School of Journalism, as well as Humanities Montana and support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The camp is geared toward students who will be in grades nine to 12, but incoming first-year college students are encouraged to apply as well. Applicants only are asked to pay a $25 application fee.
“Teaching the next generation the value of trustworthy information and how it can be carefully and ethically produced and delivered across all media is crucial to the future of our society, our communities and our democracy,” said School of Journalism Director Denise Dowling. “We need more students ready to seek truth, tell meaningful stories, witness history and hold the powerful accountable, and we’re so proud to be the training ground in Montana for journalists who want to do all of that.”
Students should plan to arrive on campus the afternoon of Sunday, July 18, to be get settled into the residence halls and ready to participate in full-day workshops Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, students will put the finishing touches on their journalism projects and get ready to depart back to their communities, where they will continue to work with School of Journalism partners in covering their home communities.
“High school students lend such a valuable perspective, especially when it comes to exploring the media’s role in our everyday lives,” said instructor Courtney Lowery Cowgill. “Helping them use all these new technological tools they have to tell stories that really matter to them, their communities and their world is always exciting and instructive. We cannot wait to see what these students find and produce.”
For more information and to register, visit http://bit.ly/UMjournalismcamp.
The camp is made possible by the generous support of Humanities Montana, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For 49 years, Humanities Montana has helped strengthen communities through grants and special programs that help humanities reach into every corner of Montana.
“We see the connections between democracy, the humanities and journalism as vital to an informed citizenry,” said Samantha Dwyer, program officer at Humanities Montana. “We partnered with the UM School of Journalism on this summer camp to help make award-winning faculty and media experts accessible to high school students across the region. We are committed to removing barriers to civic engagement, including supporting teens who invest their time and passion in media literacy and journalism.”
Housed in the College of the Arts and Media, UM’s School of Journalism is one of the oldest accredited journalism schools in the country. The program strives to help students think critically about the communities they live in through hands-on training – and find and tell stories that shed light on important topics. Students learn by doing while reporting at home and across the globe.
Contact: Denise Dowling, director, UM School of Journalism, 406-243-5250, denise.dowling@mso.umt.edu.