Sixteen high-achieving Mississippi students gather in Hattiesburg for Workshop
Alec Ashby, comes from the far region of Petal, which is almost close enough to walk to from here; however, he grew up in Kentucky. He will be going into his senior year this coming school year. He decided to come to this workshop because he is interested in pursuing an undergraduate degree in journalism. After earning that, he plans to go to law school but is unsure of which school he would like to attend.
— Jake Frederick
— Jake Frederick
Morgan Badurak is a 16-year-old coffee addicted, Star Wars saga watching, Nirvana enthusiast from Biloxi. After graduation, she plans on moving to New York where she dreams of becoming a journalist for a music magazine. Music, to her, is passionate and expressive in ways that she cannot always be. Trying to decide on her career path, Morgan knew that she loved writing and deeply connected to music, thus music journalism captivated her. Part of her job would include interviewing bands and covering music festivals across the country. Morgan applied for this workshop because she hopes to enhance her skill set and to work with multimedia journalism instead of solely focusing on writing.
— Destiny Thompson
— Destiny Thompson
Kassidy Biss has moved around a lot, but she now calls Ocean Springs her home.
Biss is ahead of the game with her feet wet into journalism and media as Co-Editor of her high school's TV Station, GTV. While familiar with broadcast journalism experience, she expands into different projects from news like music videos. Her love for movies sparks an interest for film.
Biss said her goal this week is to be equipped and “expand my horizons about what I could do.” Biss will serve as an executive officer for her Ocean Springs Mayor's Youth Council as Media Coordinator, which will allow her to apply what she learns here at USM this week and put it in action.
— Peyton Neal
Biss is ahead of the game with her feet wet into journalism and media as Co-Editor of her high school's TV Station, GTV. While familiar with broadcast journalism experience, she expands into different projects from news like music videos. Her love for movies sparks an interest for film.
Biss said her goal this week is to be equipped and “expand my horizons about what I could do.” Biss will serve as an executive officer for her Ocean Springs Mayor's Youth Council as Media Coordinator, which will allow her to apply what she learns here at USM this week and put it in action.
— Peyton Neal
Kielee Clement was born on October 14, 1997 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is the daughter of Raymond and Erin Clement. She has an older brother named Kienan and a younger brother named Kaiden. Her family was greatly affected by Hurricane Katrina. They evacuated New Orleans and moved to Carrier. Kielee attended Pearl River Central High School where she just graduated. She will be attending the University of Southern Mississippi in the August as a college freshman. Her major is broadcast journalism with an emphasis in public relations. She enjoys to whale watch whenever she has the opportunity to go to Alaska. She is also a Harry Styles enthusiast.
— Asia Harden
— Asia Harden
Will Corley, 16, is a rising junior at Amory High School where he plans to join the yearbook staff in the fall. Corley said he wanted to attend the journalism workshop to gain some much-needed experience with the field of journalism, a subject with not a lot of resources at his high school. Corley said he is not sure of where he eventually wants to go to college or what area he will major in, but this experience gave him a new perspective on the field and on the subject of Hurricane Katrina.
--Staff reports
--Staff reports
At 18, Micheal Edmonds is one of only two legal adults attending this year’s journalism workshopo. Edmonds is from Yazoo City, where he has live his whole life, and he recently graduated from Yazoo County High School. During his tenure at YCHS, he was part of theatre for three years. Edmonds said he is here at the workshop to learn more about journalism and expand his horizons. Edmonds will attend Holmes Community College and then transfer to USM where he will either be a teacher or a journalist. The camp has been good so far for Edmonds, and the people have been interesting (but in a good way).
— Joshua Walton
— Joshua Walton
Jake Frederick, is a 17-year-old from the metropolis appropriately named, Olive Branch. He spends his time whale watching, riding horseback whilst scantly clothed, and kicking footballs. He has an interest in broadcast journalism and participates in his school's programs pertaining to such—even though his aunt is the director of the program so I’m not saying that he got it because of that reason, but I’m going to let you decide. He plans on pursuing broadcast journalism and possibly screenwriting while at the University of Southern Mississippi.
— Alec Ashby
— Alec Ashby
Mallory Greer, 17, of Yazoo County will be staring her senior year at Yazoo County High School this fall where she will be the editor of the school newspaper's website. She is a member of The National Honors Society and Gateway Map Coalition. After graduating high school, Greer plans to attend an in-state college where she hopes to major in biochemistry. After undergrad, Greer said she wants to attend med-school to peruse a career in anesthesiology. In her free time, Greer said she enjoys playing the piano and cooking brownies.
— Ana Grace Warren
— Ana Grace Warren
Asia Harden, 16, is a rising junior at St. Joseph High School. She is from Greenville. For fun Asia enjoys watching Netflix, she is a member of the cheerleading squad, she plays soccer, she enjoys softball, and she also is community theater. Recently Asia has started to learn how to play the guitar. Asia wanted to do this workshop, because she is interested in journalism and she wanted to insure this what she wants to do in college.
— Kielee Clement
— Kielee Clement
Living in Hattiesburg for all of his 15 years, AJ McGee is pretty familiar with the area. During his free time, AJ likes to make music on the keyboard, write, and play video games. He attends Forrest County Agricultural High School where he sings bass in the school choir. His parents are Anthony and Jackie McGee, and he has a sister named Tisha who has a son. AJ was born with a muscular disorder forces him have to use a wheelchair to get around. He can walk, but not for very long. For his birthday on July 5 this year, AJ's parents are taking him and one of his friends on a road trip to Las Vegas for a week with stops at different places along the way like the Grand Canyon.
— Will Corley
— Will Corley
Peyton Neal, 17, of New Albany said she applied to the workshop to not only learn more about the journalism field, but to also find out more about USM. Neal said she wants to be a journalist because she loves to write. However, she also enjoyed the workshop experience because she got a chance to learn other skills. She described herself as an avid learner and go getter.
— Kassidy Biss
— Kassidy Biss
Charlie Robinson, 16, attends Warren Central High in Vicksburg where she is a rising junior. After graduating, she plans to attend Jackson State University to pursue her dreams of becoming a television personality and broadcast journalist. Robinson decided to attend the Remembering Hurricane Katrina Journalism Workshop to enhance her editing and writing skills to produce a more efficient school newspaper. Robinson is currently the editor of her school newspaper. Her hobbies include: reading, writing, and watching films. Robinson’s said she will always remember to dive into a news story head first.
— RaShunda Veals
— RaShunda Veals
Destiny Thompson is a 16-year-old, 5 Seconds of Summer obsessed, photo taking, top student from Byhalia. She will be a junior at Center Hill High School in Olive Branch where she is involved in Student Council, Interact Club, Beta Club, Science Club, NSHSS Club (a national club), Fellowship of Christian Students, a member of the Chick-fil-a leadership academy, and the yearbook editor. She is attending this workshop to better her skills needed for her editor position and to expand her knowledge of journalism. Because of her changing interests, Destiny's career path is currently undecided. She is hoping this workshop will help her decide if she wants to pursue journalism as a career.
— Morgan Badurak
— Morgan Badurak
RaShunda Veals, 17, of Woodville, likes to listen to music and go shopping, said she plans to be a broadcaster once she finishes college. Veals said she applied to attend the multimedia workshop because she wanted to broaden her knowledge of the journalism industry. “The information learned in the camp will help me decide whether or not I’m really interested in journalism, and whether it is for me,” Veals said.
— Charlie Robinson
— Charlie Robinson
Joshua Walton, 16, attends Union High School. He has lived in Union for nine years. Walton said he came to the USM workshop to see what he can do. Walton said he has always dreamed of becoming a sports broadcaster. To achieve that goal, he’s worked at his high school newspaper. Walton said he plans to attend either Mississippi College or Ole Miss. He is not sure on his major at this point, but plans on either something in medicine or journalism.
--Micheal Edmonds
--Micheal Edmonds
Ana-Grace Warren, 17, has only one sibling, an older brother. She is an upcoming senior at Pontotoc High School. At her school, she is a cheerleader, co-editor of their yearbook, student council vice president, and class president. She also knows how to play piano, like me. Warren plans to attend an in-state college, but she's not sure yet on what career path she wants to pursue. She is interested in several fields.
— Mallory Greer
— Mallory Greer