This weekend, West Chicago Community High School’s journalism program will attend the Journalism Education Association (JEA) National High School Journalism Convention in St. Louis, MO. Seventeen students will participate in a series of breakout sessions with professional reporters and photojournalists from around the country, and six students will compete in national contests.

Students will travel by bus from WEGO to Joliet Gateway Center where they will board an Amtrak train. During the four-hour train ride, students will have time to complete their schoolwork, and competitors will practice for their upcoming events.

Those competing include seniors Savannah Epperson (feature writing), Michelle Garcia (review writing), and Sofia Tamayo (sports feature photography) and juniors Karidja Monjolo (newswriting), Sasha Baumgartner (editorial writing), Micah Weber (video editing) and Emily Ziajor (first-year photographer).

All students will attend four sessions daily, ranging from “How to score great sports stories” to “F-Cheer! Off-campus speech and student media”. The Wildcat Chronicle’s editorial team will also focus their attention on leadership and teambuilding sessions.

The journey to St. Louis was not always as smooth as the train ride. The conference comes at a considerable cost, as it includes out-of-state travel in addition to registration fees. Adviser Leslie Fireman approached the Educational Foundation in September, pleading for grants for the journalism program. The committee awarded the program both grants: one to cover the $125 per student registration fees, and another to update the program’s technology, including the purchase of four Nikon DSLR cameras.

“We are so grateful to the Educational Foundation for their support. The grants will have a major impact on our program,” said Fireman. “Our ultimate goal is to be able to offer photojournalism opportunities, and build our leadership team.”

In addition to the grants, journalism students organized two fundraisers: a bake sale, which raised $262 (and sold out within three lunch periods), and a less-than-successful Chipotle fundraiser that, after the cost of promotion, earned the program just $29.

West Chicago Community High School’s journalism program has not always been this booming. Fireman even called it “less than robust” in the late 2010s.

“I took on the journalism classes over a year ago, and we have made a lot of really big changes since then, which have allowed the program to grow,” said Fireman.

Last year, the program started out with enrollment near 30 students across two sections. By the end of the year, that number had risen to “about forty-one” according to Fireman. The year, the program is expecting 60 students in a total of three sections.

The increase may be attributed to a change in the format of the program. Previously, students were required to take an introductory journalism course before they could write for the Wildcat Chronicle, either as part of the Journalism Production class, or through an after-school club. At one point, there was only one student consistently writing for the newspaper.

However, now, students in the introductory class write for the Wildcat Chronicle, and try a variety of journalistic styles. They then have the opportunity to move onto Journalism Production, where they become part of the editorial team, making decisions for the newspaper, and even taking on editor roles.

All students in journalism also have the chance to compete, not only at the JEA Convention this weekend, but also at the Northern Illinois Student Press Association conference in the spring, as well as the Illinois High School Association Sectionals.