Campus Life

High school students get hands-on media experience at Penn State summer camp

Penn State College of Communications 2014 Multimedia Journalism Camp students interview campus post office mailman Mike Herr, commonly known as "Mike the Mailman." During the five-day camp, 35 high school students produced 55 stories — including written articles, audio slideshows and videos — which can be viewed at sites.comm.psu.edu/camps/. Credit: Will Yurman / Penn StateCreative Commons

Thirty-five high school students traveled from across the United States and internationally July 6-10, 2014, to learn about storytelling methods at Penn State’s Multimedia Journalism Camp, one of many camps offered on campus during the summer months.

"Our camps give high school students powerful hands-on experience, with our best faculty, in a fun, technology-driven environment,” said Marie Hardin, dean of the College of Communications.

Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to visit campus facilities, including the college’s Innovation Park broadcast studio, and local media organizations, including AccuWeather. Student projects focused on Penn State personalities, venues and events, including campus post office mailman Mike Herr, the Penn State All-Sports Museum, a State College Spikes baseball game and Children’s Day at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

During the five-day camp, students produced 55 stories — including written articles, audio slideshows and videos — which can be viewed on the camp's website, sites.comm.psu.edu/camps/. The college also held a Film Camp for aspiring high school-age filmmakers during the same week.

“They give these students a sneak peek at what's ahead in our majors,” Hardin said. “And — no surprise — many join us for college to pursue their dream careers.”

Penn State’s College of Communications is the nation’s largest nationally accredited mass communications program. In recent years the college has seen unprecedented growth and success, most recently when winning its third consecutive national collegiate championship in the William R. Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program, the first school to achieve such an honor. The college also earned an unprecedented sweep in the Hearst program’s individual national writing championship.

Last Updated July 16, 2014