The newsroom at the Carolina Journalism Institute was bustling this week with all types of media-related chatter. From videography to photography, campers had the opportunity to explore new skills and get hands-on experience in journalism.

The high school students went through an application process to attend the week-long journalism camp at University of South Carolina and receive hands-on instruction from college faculty. They gained field experience in interviewing, videography, photography and news writing.

“I think actually going out into the field was very helpful,” said Addison Altman, a rising sophomore at HCS Scholars Academy High School in Conway. “It gave like real world hands-on experience on a bunch of different stuff and like writing the stories.”

Many students attend CJI to sharpen their existing skills, and others, to grow their journalistic knowledge. Some students, like Ella-Russell Harrelson, a rising senior from Mount Pleasant, plan to use these techniques at their schools.

“I think I also really was hoping to get some material to take back to my school and use to teach, especially because I lead my yearbook team and my school’s sports Instagram.” Harrelson said.

The camp is run through the Southern Interscholastic Press Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes journalism in public schools. Nina Brook, the director of the program, has worked in journalism for around 20 years.

Brook mentioned that it can be a “challenge” to promote a “meaningful experience” for  students at CJI regardless of their journalistic background.

“My philosophy as a teacher is always try to take people where they are and hopefully help them feel like they got better,” said Brook, who is also the journalism sequence head at USC.

All campers were trained on advanced cameras, plus other recording devices, to report on one of three summer programs being offered on campus during the week of June 16: VEX robotics, swim and jazz camps.

“I visited​​ the USC aquatic center natatorium and was able to integrate the five shot formula, a method we were taught earlier in the week, to capture the swimmers’ experience,” Harrelson said. “I shot on one of USC’s Canon EOS 80D cameras, which was super interesting because that’s a much more advanced camera than what I used on a day-to-day basis.”

Once the reporting was done, the student-reporters returned to the newsroom to edit videos and photos, write articles and compile an overall news package.

The CJI experience was more than just journalism, however. The high schoolers also got a taste of college life.

Campers were housed in the Honors Residence Hall, receiving all meals from the Honeycomb Cafe. They embarked on outdoor activities, field trips and peer bonding with all students participating in the Carolina Master Scholars Adventure Series program.