Inland Lakes student newscast takes home awards, grant money
INDIAN RIVER — A news source in Indian River may be getting an upgrade after receiving a grant from the Awakon Federal Credit Union.
Each week, a group of students from Inland Lakes High School work together to film and edit a newscast that is put onto YouTube.
Students can apply to be a member of the ILS staff and it works as though it's a sport, said teacher Jordan Paterson. Students working with the group must maintain a high enough GPA and cannot have disciplinary write-ups.
The class first started three years ago, and among the founding members was senior Connor Wallace, who is now taking an independent study with Paterson, allowing him to spend extra time editing the show together. Since the first episode, he’s seen the growth in the work the class is producing.
“It's pretty cool to be the first of something, and then to have it catch its legs and keep going as the years go on,” Wallace said. "I think it's only going to get bigger and be a huge part of our school.”
Paterson said there are 17 students enrolled in the class, but they saw 25 applications this year. Last year, they received eight applications.
“There's a clear increase in engagement and increase in people wanting to be part of ILS news, which is great too,” he said.
This year, the class started submitting videos to competitions and found success in those as well, Paterson said. The ILS News received an honorable mention in a national competition, and a music video the students produced received second place in the Thunder Bay Film Festival.
While the staff has already found success, Paterson said, the staff is finding itself going up against other creators and teams with substantially larger budgets. Now, with a $2,500 grant from Awakon Federal Credit Union, the class will be able to have upgraded equipment, including new microphones and tripods.
Junior Sarah Wolfgram is taking an independent study with Paterson as well, joining the staff as a freshman. She said the class has allowed her and her classmates to explore their creativity.
“As long as we're not breaking any rules, (Paterson) lets us do what we want with the episode and I think that's really cool that it's student driven,” she said.
Wolfgram said she just started editing this year and developing that skill has been exciting. Putting in hours of work to complete the 10-minute-long project, which included different people’s ideas and contributions, is rewarding for her, she said.
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The class allows students to get an introduction to skills like video production and broadcasting, providing them with a hands-on experience in a field they may want to pursue after graduation.
“It's amazing,” Paterson said. “I was involved in this kind of stuff when I was in high school, so to bring it to this school as a teacher was really exciting for me. It's really just a major shoutout to the kids that I have, the founding members. They work hard and they want to be great, and so we're able to create great things.”
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Inland Lakes student newscast takes home awards, grant money
