Three Miami Lakes Educational Center journalism students were selected to participate in the 2015 Peace Sullivan/ James Ansin High School Journalism and New Media workshop at the University of Miami in July. The program accepted applications from across South Florida and of the hundreds of applicants, only 20 were selected.
The highly selective program is fully-funded by generous donors and the University of Miami (UM) to be offered at no cost to participants. The students live on UM’s campus and the workshops are held at the university’s School of Communication.
MLEC journalism students have been selected to participate in this program each year since 2008. Each summer, the program directors select a theme or focus for the newspaper, Miami Montage, and brainstorm story ideas with the students on the very first day. This year's theme was climate change and students created and produced a print publication and a multimedia package including video, an online edition and utilized various social media outlets.
Following the three week intensive program, professors and directors select some of the best work and present those students an award at the annual end of summer banquet. This year, MLEC senior and managing editor of The Harbinger, Nathalie Mairena, won for Best News Story and Best Video. Both works will now be entered into the Dow Jones competition for excellence in young journalism.