Senn students visit School of Communication

Students from Chicago’s Senn High School took a Halloween-themed field trip to Loyola’s School of Communication to experience what it is like to be a TV reporter and newscaster.

More than 30 Senn students used professional video cameras and microphones to interview passersby near Chicago’s historic Water Tower, just steps from the School of Communication’s downtown campus.

The students also gained hands-on broadcasting experience by delivering news reports from the School of Communication's television studio anchor desk, where their performances were recorded.

Their assignment focused on Halloween. The street reporters interviewed pedestrians about their Halloween plans, their costumes and favorite candy. The anchor desk reporters read Halloween-themed intros off the Teleprompter.

“I couldn't have been more thrilled to see my students showing off their journalistic chops both out on the street doing interviews or in the studio reading scripts,” said Michael Cullinane, lead journalism instructor at Senn.

Senn journalism students have been visiting the SOC since 2014 for annual field trips. The visits to the School of Communication offer Senn students exposure to college-level instruction in digital journalism, Cullinane said.

“Loyola has helped us with this field trip several times in the past, and it only continues to get better,” he said. “The faculty is able to encourage the students to get out of their comfort zone and take chances, and they continue to provide a model of what life might be like as a college journalist.”

The students are part of Senn’s Digital Journalism program, a four-year International Baccalaureate curriculum designed to teach skills in reporting, writing and producing stories through digital technology.

Loyola’s School of Communication has been partnering with Senn for almost 15 years. School of Communication faculty, students and staff help Senn with curriculum development, classroom instruction and equipment and technological support.

Over the years, Loyola’s SOC has used grant money and its own funds to outfit Senn students technology such as video cameras, microphones and other audio equipment, a Teleprompter, and most recently, a news anchor desk.

The field trip is another important aspect of the partnership, bringing the high school students together with Loyola professors and students to work on video production and reporting.

SOC Dean Ginny McDermott said the annual field trip is a meaningful part of the ongoing relationship between Loyola and Senn.

“The visit from Senn High School students to our Water Tower campus was inspiring. They engaged hands-on in the newsroom, showcasing impressive potential as on-air talent and on the spot interviewers,” McDermott said. “I value the ongoing relationship between Loyola and Senn High School, which fosters such enriching experiences for young aspiring communicators.”

If you are at a Chicago-area high school with a journalism or media program and would like to book a field trip to Loyola’s School of Communication, please contact Associate Dean John Slania at jslania@luc.edu.