A Summer Camp Experience

By The Bridge Staff

On July 18, 2010

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The Bridge Staff

As university students, we often forget the importance in sharing our experiences and knowledge with those that are younger than us. Between school, work, the newspaper and our extra curricular activities, we find it very hard to participate in any community events.

Through the South Texas Writing Project, we were able to engage in a summer camp that allowed us to use our journalistic abilities and teach younger students. For a single week, we were able to take already great writers, and modify their skills to fit the journalistic style.

In one week we managed to teach the students the six most important questions: Who? What? Why? When? Where? and How? They learned the importance of deadlines and peer editing. While dressing up like the alter egos of themselves, the students experienced what it was like to step into someone else's shoes. The students learned to remove their personal ideas and moral values from their conscious while interviewing different people.

This exercise was very important for the students to participate in because it allowed them to practice what the interview process would be like. As reporters, we usually find that we cannot control what other people believe in and we could not possibly influence them in any way shape or form.

The students also learned the basics of photography and discovered the art of the photo essay. The students were able to partake in the process of making a publication and the stress that comes with it. Overall, the whole summer camp proved to be a whirlwind of excitement, stress, adventure and extreme fun.

As part of the newspaper, we are glad that we were able to establish our first summer camp and have it be a success. As The Bridge Student Newspaper, would like to thank the South Texas Writing Project, the Language and Literature Department, and Aramark for making this possible. We also give a special thanks to the people around TAMIU that allowed the students to interview them: John Maxstadt, Dr. Frances Rhodes, Dr. Irma Cantu, Dan Lathey, and Jose Saavedra.