The Morehead Writing Project is once again offering its journalism camp – Power Your Story – with the support of the MacArthur Foundation and in partnership with Morehead Public Radio and Morehead State’s Convergent Media program. The 2020 Power Your Story camp, June 7-13, will build off the success of the 2019 Power Your Story camp where students worked as journalists including writing and recording for WMKY and developing a story for publication in The Daily Independent (Ashland) and The Trail Blazer online.
The 2020 Power Your Story camp will include those experiences and offer new benefits for students. “We are very excited to join the Morehead State University Summer Arts Academy,” said Morehead Writing Project Director Deanna Mascle. “Joining that dynamic summer program will give our participants the opportunity for more summer fun in addition to learning about writing, journalism, and convergent media.”
High school students (from rising freshmen to graduating seniors) must apply to the Morehead State University Summer Arts Academy to attend the 2020 Power Your Story summer journalism camp. However, thanks to the MacArthur Foundation, the Morehead Writing Project is able to offer $250 scholarships to the Summer Arts Academy. “Students who are accepted and complete our pre-camp program will receive the scholarship to reduce the cost of attending the Summer Arts Academy,” said 2020 Power Your Story Director Sarah Webster.
The goal of the pre-camp program is to help students research, write, and publish an overlooked and misunderstood story about their community by the end of the camp, according to Mascle. “The National Writing Project has developed an online publication venue so our students are guaranteed publication of their work, but we will also work with students to seek other publishing platforms so their voices will definitely be amplified,” she said. “Our goal is to truly power student stories as they research, write, and publish.”
Mascle said the NWP platform will be similar to that used for NWP’s Writing Our Future programs. “The platform is very robust and allows students to combine print, image, and digital to craft their message. We are also excited because this means we will be able to connect our camp with the other camps around the country funded by the MacArthur Foundation grant to the National Writing Project.”
According to Webster, the 2020 Power Your Story camp will retain the strengths of the 2019 camp. “Students will still work closely with professional journalists and develop relationships with Morehead State convergent media students as well as learn a variety of critical professional skills that will support them no matter what profession they eventually pursue.”‘
Students with questions about the 2020 Power Your Story summer journalism camp should contact Camp Director Sarah Webster or Morehead Writing Project Director Deanna Mascle. More information about the camp is available on the Morehead Writing Project web site and information about the Morehead State University Summer Arts Academy is available on the Morehead State University web site. Scholarship applications are also available online.