By Chris Weber, Phoenix staff writer

As we wrap up another year at Jaguar Student Media, we say goodbye to our graduating students and look forward to more growth and improvement.

While the academic year may be ending, our efforts to enrich community journalism will not take a break. This summer, we will host the Jaguar Student Media Summer Journalism Bootcamp, an 8-week program that offers training in various journalistic disciplines.

The boot camp offers students an exceptional opportunity to learn from distinguished media professionals. Participants in the 10-hour-a-week program can get paid to learn, sign up as volunteers, or earn internship credits. 

Throughout the boot camp, students will have the opportunity to engage with notable guest speakers and journalism experts. These include Randall Weissman, a Chicago Tribune veteran and the Homewood Flossmoor Chronicle’s current editor, and Dr. Lara Hrycaj, Jaguar Student Media’s faculty advisor and an expert in audio journalism. 

Past boot camps have featured prominent figures such as a producer for NPR’s program 1A, a news producer for NBC Chicago, a digital producer for NBC Detroit/ClickOnDetroit, a former WBEZ radio host, and a journalist from the Invisible Institute.

Take advantage of this opportunity! Apply for the Jaguar Student Media Summer Journalism Bootcamp by May 10.

The boot camp is open to all GovState students registered for at least six credit hours at GSU for the Spring and Fall semesters of 2024. While preference will be given to federal work-study recipients, all eligible students are encouraged to apply through Jobs for Jaguars. Simply submit a cover letter and resume to be considered for this exciting opportunity.

For more information, email Dr. Lara Hrycaj.

Last semester we launched Radio Jaguar, our campus radio station, and we will continue to produce original programming. 

In the near future, we aim to become a Documenters hub, creating opportunities for students to take notes at local municipal meetings and earn compensation. The early phases of this project would be organized through the GSU Center for Community Media using federal work-study funds. We would eventually like to find sustainable funding to pay anyone from the GSU community to cover local meetings in our area. 

We are excited to see what the next academic year brings and how our students will continue to impact the field of journalism.