By CAROL LI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Wilson’s Journalism program competed in the Eastern Los Angeles Journalism Education Program (ELAJEA) Write-Offs at Citrus College on Saturday, Feb. 29.
During ELAJEA, students from Paw Prints Weekly and Prowler competed in their respective events and attended workshops to expand their journalistic skillset. Overall, Wilson placed tenth and third in editorial cartoon, ninth in news writing and newspaper layout, fifth place in editorial and sports writing and third place in critical review and yearbook copy.
To prepare, Paw Prints Weekly held practice write-offs for the staff to familiarize themselves with the process of writing under pressure.
According to Paw Prints Weekly advisor Pilar Robles, the program faced some challenges but students still enjoyed the learning process ELAJEA provided.
“There was less representation from [Wilson] compared to previous years, which gave us some obstacles to overcome when placing as a school,” Robles said. “Overall, the competition was successful because everyone who attended was able to gain a memorable experience at ELAJEA.”
In addition, Paw Prints Weekly Editor-in-Chief junior Emma Chang believes the group demonstrated great success at the competition.
“I expected [the program] to go to [ELAJEA] and put forward our best efforts, which is exactly what we did. The results show and I could not be more proud,” Chang said. “Many of the new staff displayed their talents and potential at their first competition.”
Furthermore, yearbook co-sports editor Meiqi Lai seeked inspiration from the work different schools presented at ELAJEA.
“Taking part in ELAJEA and being exposed to what students from other schools [produced] allowed me to [hone in] on my weakness for caption writing, and also gave me new ideas on how the yearbook can be improved on for future years.”
The Journalism program will be advancing to Southern California Journalism Education Program (SCJEA) on Mar. 16.