If somebody voluntarily chooses to be in a journalism class, especially near the end of high school, that means it is very likely that they will be interested in that professional field in the future. If that’s the case, something that I believe can be very important in a journalism class is being taught, or visited, by somebody already very experienced in journalism. On the 28th of September, only a handful of weeks ago, Mrs. Beck organized a Journalism classroom visit from Lisa Gray Youngblood, editor of the Plateau Magazine of North Carolina. Mrs. Beck also invited Mr. Penland’s Business Management class to hear the guest speaker. As a magazine editor, and also as somebody who knew Mrs. Beck personally, Mrs. Youngblood was a very good choice for a guest speaker. She had a striking presence, and it was clear to me that she was very professional and also very passionate about her job.
During her visit, she spoke with the students in the room, asking about their experiences in the class, and informing them about her experience as editor of the Plateau Magazine, giving the classroom tips about journalism that she has learned through her years of experience. Once she was done speaking about that, she split the room into groups of four, and had us discuss theoretical article ideas, which we would tell her about once we were finished, and she would discuss them all with the room. She ended her visit by revealing to us that the cover story of the next issue of the Plateau Magazine was written by Mrs. Beck herself, who wasn’t aware that her story had been chosen for the cover feature. It was a unique and memorable way to end her visit to Hayesville High School, one that she herself said was very enjoyable to do.
I reached out to Mrs. Youngblood via email, asking her to speak about her experience at HHS, to which she happily obliged. I specifically wanted to know what she thought about the students she met here. Her feelings were all quite positive, saying that she found the students to be “respectful – of their teachers, each other and me.” She states, “I was impressed with the students’ breadth of knowledge,” referring to the varied topics that students brought up while thinking of theoretical article ideas, such as “pop culture, agriculture and farming, fashion, travel, sports, southern traditions, hiking, archeology, cooking, and more.” The day of her visit, one of the students who she seemed most impressed with was Oak Mackey, who is the reason Youngblood brought up archeology specifically, as Oak would go on to write an article on that topic for the HHS online newspaper. Mackey also had some positive things to say about the guest speaker. “She was obviously a good choice for a guest speaker. She’s clearly very professional and good at her job.” Mackey also spoke highly of her advice on writing. “It’s something I really like to do, so it was really helpful.
Youngblood also seemed to be rather hopeful about the futures of the students she met, bringing up something which she said during her visit to Hayesville High, “Good journalists relay facts. Great journalists tell stories.” She states that many of the students she encountered seemed to be “born storytellers,” and could absolutely pursue a career in journalism in the future.
Lisa Gray Youngblood told me that she enjoyed her visit very much, “It has been a while since I’ve been in a high school classroom, and I enjoyed the reminder of what that is like. I also love teaching, and when I see a student engage, I get pretty darn excited.” She also specifically brought up the end of her visit when she revealed that the cover story of the Plateau Magazine’s next issue was written by Mrs. Beck, who Youngblood clearly admires as a journalist. “Mrs. Beck is an excellent writer, and it was fun to celebrate her with her class.”
Lisa Gray Youngblood’s visit to the Journalism class of Hayesville High was a very fulfilling one, for herself and many of the students, and exemplified the qualities of good guest speaker.