For the past three years, the Rock Island High School Journalism Program has been a backstage pass for Eh Eh Poe to help share the stories of students, for the students. From trying to create stories to meeting deadlines, Poe has learned more about herself and what she likes to do.
Poe was one of the first of many Sophomores at Rocky to take Journalism. “I took Journalism because I remember one day Mrs. Vens came into my English classroom and talked about journalism and what they did in it, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is something that I want to try out.’ And I’m glad I did, as worrisome as things can get from time to time, with turning work in and over stuff, I will never regret taking it,” says Poe. In addition, Mrs. Sarah Vens, Rock Island High School’s Journalism Teacher, made the decision to have Sophomores start enrolling in the Journalism course. “I thought offering the class to sophomores would help build a stronger program. I had a lot of really talented freshman writers, who were helping with the yearbook as volunteers. I thought offering the class to sophomores would help them to become better leaders in the program, as they would have 3 years of experience,” says Vens
Practice makes perfect. Things need to be repetitive for anyone to become excellent, and that is what happened for Poe. “There’s so many aspects of journalism that I like. But I would definitely say being able to work on the yearbook. It’s always so fun each year. It’s repetitive, but that is not a bad thing because each year is different, although we follow the same protocols for creating a yearbook,” says Poe. Mrs. Vens has been able to be Poe’s teacher these past three years, getting to support her writing/work. “She is a fantastic writer, but most importantly, she is a great leader, who wants everyone to do well, and for us to create a great yearbook. She understands my vision for the program, and holds herself and others to those standards,” says Vens.
This is Poe’s third year in Journalism, and she feels that she has gotten used to the work that they do. “I would say yes, it has gotten easier. This is my third year taking the class, so I’m definitely used to the stuff that I’m doing, which is good because that means I know what I’m doing wrong and what I’m doing right, and I can even better improve myself,” says Poe. Similarly, Vens feels that returning students bring leadership to the program. “I hope that means they enjoyed the class the first time, and that they are invested in making a great yearbook. Returning students bring great leadership and experience to the program. I love when they start helping the new students,” says Vens.
Journalism has been a tool for Rocky students to get out of their comfort zones and tell the story of the Rocks. For Eh Eh, she has loved creating the yearbook and further telling the unique stories each student has to tell.
