Makena Busch, CJE, came into teaching with seven years of experience that included a creative arts director position and a graphic design and copy editing role. Now, as journalism teacher and adviser, Busch sets high expectations for her students and gets results. “I take pride in teaching my students everything from A to Z and hold them to the highest standards while in production,” she said. “I expect my students to be leaders in, and out, of the classroom and consider the yearbook program to be the hub of our student community, supporting every club, sports team, and performing arts group, while fostering the culture of our student body.”

Her students are also able to learn from Busch’s example, as she strives to serve the scholastic journalism community in any way she can. “After advising her first year of yearbook, Makena was asked to teach a photography and design strand at the Inland Northwest camp,” said Justin Daigle, CJE, of Brighton (Colorado) High School.

“Makena continued at the camp the following year and shared a keynote on creating a strong yearbook culture in your program,” Daigle said. “What I loved about working with Makena is how she is always thinking about how we can include a nice balance of ‘giving kids information’ and then time to ‘reflect and apply.’ We were able to accomplish this and more, and a big part of that is because of Makena’s ideas and planning.”

Jeni Daley, CJE, found her way into teaching and advising after working for two years after college as a marketing coordinator. Her passion to work with students, combined with her knowledge of journalism, was the perfect fit when Shawnee Heights High School was looking for a journalism teacher.

“I want to inspire kids to create better publications every year and set them up with the tools to be successful in that endeavor,” Daley said. “My program has grown exponentially because kids are excited about the opportunity to be a part of this staff.”

Daley also helped expand her students’ reach by connecting with the community. “Jeni’s success at Shawnee Heights is not limited to managing and leading changes to the yearbook publication,” Principal Ed West said. “Jeni entered into an agreement with our local newspaper, The Topeka Capital-Journal, to have a number of student newspaper publications included as part of the Capital-Journal circulation. The opportunity to showcase our school, our newspaper and the talents of our students is greatly enhanced by her efforts.”

Kaitlin Edgerton, CJE, stepped into a strong journalism school and took on advising without missing a beat.

“It surely couldn’t have been easy for Kaitlin to step into the role of Tower adviser after two legendary teachers, but Kaitlin did so steadfastly, kindling the fire that burns as a legacy to this program that historically defines itself through the pursuit of justice and truth,” said Ava Butzu of Grand Blanc (Michigan) High School. “Her insistence that her students strive to expand their horizons and take ownership of their publications has shaped The Tower to continue to be one of the finest examples of student journalism in our state.”

Edgerton has found that when she works to empower her students, she gets good results. “I find students are resilient and can make great journalistic calls when given the right skill set and tools to do so,” she said. “This also happens when students know I trust them to make the right decisions and to get the best sources every time because what they publish is a reflection of the whole staff.”

Erin Gallegos made an unusual transition into teaching high school journalism and advising student media — she came from teaching math to elementary school students.

“I became interested in teaching after doing humanitarian work in Russia for four years,” Gallegos said, where she taught English to kindergarten, secondary and college students. “Before living in Russia, I spent the first decade of my career working in network-level broadcast production.”

Since making the transition from math to journalism, Gallegos has already helped write district curriculum and planning maps for Journalism I and she has shared her broadcast Journalism plans with others to help them develop their own programs. “In just two years in the high school journalism classroom, Erin has made her mark in Texas scholastic journalism and in the hearts of her students,” Lori Oglesbee of McKinney, Texas, said.

Samantha Lasarow, CJE, is not new to the journalism world. While pursuing her B.A. in English, she was the head copy editor of The Stanford Daily newspaper, the Student Life editor of The Quad yearbook, and the co-editor-in-chief of The Stanford Service in Global Health academic journal. So it was fitting for her to take on the publications and journalism programs to pass along her knowledge and experience.

“My greatest enjoyment in advising and teaching is watching my students of all backgrounds become empowered to develop a strong, positive sense of self,” Lasarow said. “The growth in these kids — as they learn how to be responsible and ethical journalists and how to powerfully turn on their voices — is, for me, the most meaningful aspect of my vocation.”

Since beginning her role as an adviser, Lasarow has done everything she can to immerse herself in this world and continue to grow. She became a member of state and national scholastic journalism organizations, and as of this past spring, she became a part of the Southern California JEA board. “She has the unique ability to draw on her own experiences and observations to develop thoughtful opinions on a variety of issues and imparts that same wisdom to her students,” Assistant Principal Minita Clark said.

Roth Lovins, CJE, found his way back to his alma mater, bringing with him a drive to make the student media programs continue their long-standing tradition of excellence.

“Roth’s presence in and influence on the staffs of Columbus North’s national-award winning newsmagazine, The Triangle, and yearbook, Log, would be difficult to summarize in a letter,” said Kim Green, MJE, Roth’s former adviser. “It is a fact that Roth outpaced my expectations every day he was on both staffs! He did everything and did everything well.”

Now in his third year as an adviser, Lovins is committed to growing his own students in their abilities and their critical thinking. “Most of the time I play the devil’s advocate and make them think about the story from the other viewpoints and how people in the community might react to reading something that is more controversial,” Lovins said. “The main goal in getting them to think about these things is so that they address those principles that are part of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics —seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent.”

Vanessa Martinez came into teaching as a second career, and it did not take long for her students to find success under her guidance.

“She guides the students to making decisions based on fact, great design, and overall appeal,” said Mike Taylor, CJE, of Walsworth Yearbooks. “Her kind words allow the students to find those answers on their own.”

This skill has become extremely important for her students as they tackle a wide array of topics, including many controversial subjects. “I have students of all genders, income levels, sexual identities, races, religions and cultural differences,” Martinez said. “And we have covered coming-out stories, teen pregnancy, mental illness, border issues, religion, politics, military life, and much more.”

Their ability to do this well stems from the expectations she sets forth for them. “I do advise them on ideas for content,” she said, “and play devil’s advocate to make sure that their story ideas are solid and they have a plan for a good angle and reporting.”