Before the cap and gown, before singing the alma mater, before the diploma, seniors at Miami Lakes Educational Center must complete their Capstone Presentation, the culmination of four years of education before a panel of professionals in the journalism industry.
“The purpose of Capstone is really to demonstrate the depth of knowledge that students have acquired over their time here,” said journalism adviser and teacher Neyda Borges. “They take all of those skills that they have honed over the years and they create something new and exciting, something that they’re passionate about, and something that they themselves have to challenge themselves to complete.”
Each year, journalism seniors create a product and they present that product before a panel of expert judges. This year’s group included seniors Carolina Espinal, Laura Romero, Daniela Morales, Juanita Cardona, Edysmar Diaz-Cruz, Cesar Zafra, and Jennifer Perez. The students presented for judges: Michael Putney, anchor and reporter for local channel 10 (WPLG); Steve Rothaus, The Miami Herald Neighbors Editor and LGBT Reporter; Paradise Afshar Digital Editor for local channel 10; Chabeli Herrera, Business and Tourism Reporter for The Miami Herald; and Jose Otero and Jonathan Elder from Herff Jones.
“I was really nervous about it because, after all, it’s your four years of journalism put together and you don’t want people to criticize it harsh, even though that’s going to happen no matter what,” said senior and yearbook editor-in-chief Juanita Cardona.
Though her classmates echoed that sentiment, the judges and audience members saw nothing but spectacular displays of hard work and extensive journalism education. Lourdes Diaz, MLEC’s principal, was impressed.
“The seniors demonstrated excellent planning, research, and presentation skills,” Diaz said. “In addition, the judges, who are industry superstars, had nothing but accolades for these outstanding students.”
Though on the surface the projects may seem similar, each year the students put their individual personalities and passions into their projects to create a unique take on the plethora of skills that they've learned under the tutelage of Borges. The students learn skills such as article writing, interviewing, photography, videography, layout design and more, and their Capstones showcase how they’ve been prepared to transfer these skills to future careers in journalism.
“I’m so impressed,” said Putney.” Everybody who I have seen can have a career in journalism.”
Other special guests even recognized The Harbinger staff’s success apart from the presentations. “I’m very impressed with the newspaper that we follow on Twitter on a daily basis, and all the work the students do,” said Ana O. Laura, representative of MDCPS School Board member Perla Tabares Hantman.
As future journalists, the students have adopted the mindset of Rothaus, who said, “It’s important for student journalists to not think of themselves as writers or videographers or broadcast students,” and MLEC’s student journalists share that sentiment.
MLEC’s student journalists take on all of the jobs associated with media and communications and never limit themselves to playing only one role. They are not solely reporters or photographers. They do not constrain themselves to print or video. They dabble in everything. Many of the students don’t limit themselves to journalism either; they intend to follow another career path, yet are aware that the skills they acquire in the journalism program will benefit them in any career and in all aspects of their lives.
“I think it’s tremendous to see young men and women who want to be journalists, and who have exciting, creative ideas. The examples I saw today are encouraging, tremendous, impressive,” said Rothaus. “At The Miami Herald, I’ve worked with several of the students over a period of time from this school, and I’m always very impressed with the professionalism that they bring to the Herald, and to the work they do more than any other school in Miami-Dade County.”