High school students snoop for the football scoop
Corey Johnson
Scottsboro High School
Scottsboro, AL
For just over thirty minutes, high school students from towns and cities scattered all over the country assumed the role of paparazzi in a mock interview with Auburn University’s own freshman linebacker LaDarius Owens.
Students, mostly rising juniors and seniors, from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, California, Virginia, and other states have travelled to Auburn University for the annual AU Journalism Workshop, coordinated by Dr. Jennifer Adams, Associate Professor in the Journalism Department. Thirty-eight students were selected to spend this week at Auburn University and have been assigned to write articles as a part of the learning curriculum. A part of their experience here involved a scheduled interview with an AU athlete. Luckily, Owens just happened to be available to treat the students with his presence.
The mock interview was held at the Auburn Athletics Complex on Wednesday afternoon in the main conference room. The students researched Owens’ background and prepared questions beforehand. Accompanied by AU Football’s media relations representative Matt Crouch and reporters from The Auburn Plainsman, Owens answered questions asked by the students, one such as, “Which colleges tried to recruit you?” and he said that Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and many others across the Southeast were interested in him.
Another student also asked “What’s your relationship like with Gene Chizik?” and Owens replied, “Me and Coach Chizik are very close, mainly because of the relationship he built with me and my mom during recruitment. For Father’s Day, my mom called him and left a message and told him ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and he called her back to thank her, and during a team meeting he just came up to me and told me that he really appreciated it.”
The students continued to ask questions and recorded Owens’ responses just as professional reporters would, and after the mock interview was over, Owens allowed the students to take pictures with him. Most of them, especially the girls, excitedly jumped at the opportunity.
“LaDarius is a very optimistic person, and he will go very far in his future. He seems like a good person all around. This workshop has made a difference in many schools from what they’ve taught students in the past, and what I’ve learned already. I’m sure that these lessons will stick with me all throughout my career as a reporter,” said junior Tiauana Slaughter, a member of the journalism workshop, of Birmingham, Alabama.
One of the three assigned articles is dedicated to the mock interview and the other two for other newsworthy subjects. For the best articles submitted, six students will be chosen out of the near forty and awarded each a 1,000 dollar scholarship to major in journalism at Auburn University.
The students will leave Auburn University on Friday after completing their articles and reflecting on all they have learned and experienced about writing and investigative reporting.
Scottsboro High School
Scottsboro, AL
For just over thirty minutes, high school students from towns and cities scattered all over the country assumed the role of paparazzi in a mock interview with Auburn University’s own freshman linebacker LaDarius Owens.
Students, mostly rising juniors and seniors, from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, California, Virginia, and other states have travelled to Auburn University for the annual AU Journalism Workshop, coordinated by Dr. Jennifer Adams, Associate Professor in the Journalism Department. Thirty-eight students were selected to spend this week at Auburn University and have been assigned to write articles as a part of the learning curriculum. A part of their experience here involved a scheduled interview with an AU athlete. Luckily, Owens just happened to be available to treat the students with his presence.
The mock interview was held at the Auburn Athletics Complex on Wednesday afternoon in the main conference room. The students researched Owens’ background and prepared questions beforehand. Accompanied by AU Football’s media relations representative Matt Crouch and reporters from The Auburn Plainsman, Owens answered questions asked by the students, one such as, “Which colleges tried to recruit you?” and he said that Auburn University, the University of Alabama, and many others across the Southeast were interested in him.
Another student also asked “What’s your relationship like with Gene Chizik?” and Owens replied, “Me and Coach Chizik are very close, mainly because of the relationship he built with me and my mom during recruitment. For Father’s Day, my mom called him and left a message and told him ‘Happy Father’s Day’ and he called her back to thank her, and during a team meeting he just came up to me and told me that he really appreciated it.”
The students continued to ask questions and recorded Owens’ responses just as professional reporters would, and after the mock interview was over, Owens allowed the students to take pictures with him. Most of them, especially the girls, excitedly jumped at the opportunity.
“LaDarius is a very optimistic person, and he will go very far in his future. He seems like a good person all around. This workshop has made a difference in many schools from what they’ve taught students in the past, and what I’ve learned already. I’m sure that these lessons will stick with me all throughout my career as a reporter,” said junior Tiauana Slaughter, a member of the journalism workshop, of Birmingham, Alabama.
One of the three assigned articles is dedicated to the mock interview and the other two for other newsworthy subjects. For the best articles submitted, six students will be chosen out of the near forty and awarded each a 1,000 dollar scholarship to major in journalism at Auburn University.
The students will leave Auburn University on Friday after completing their articles and reflecting on all they have learned and experienced about writing and investigative reporting.
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