This summer, I had the privilege of attending Camp Cronkite, a summer workshop at Arizona State University’s (ASU) Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a full scholarship.
Every year, Camp Cronkite hosts hands-on learning summer enrichment media sessions at ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. I attended the first session offered, which focused on sports journalism, alongside 59 other student journalists from around the country.
Although I have never had a strong interest or experience with sports journalism, I was both nervous and excited to try it. I love experimenting with different journalism beats and this was entirely new to me.
After landing at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, I made my way to ASU’s Gordon Commons building. I felt the Arizona heat immediately burn my body. I immediately went inside the building, where my cohort and I would be staying for the week to escape the boiling weather.
After that, I made my way to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to meet with the rest of the cohort. The first day consisted of mingling with the other 59 students in my cohort through icebreakers and the ASU faculty explained what to expect throughout Camp Cronkite.
Additionally, we were assigned to two groups for the entirety of the week: one group attended sessions and electives together while the other group was a general group for any fun competitions such as trivia or game nights held throughout the week.
For the rest of the week at Camp Cronkite, I attended multiple sessions and electives hosted by ASU faculty and alumni that focused on different media of journalism. From editing a short sports broadcast package to practicing copyediting skills on sports articles, I gained insight into sports I never fully understood while strengthening my journalistic skills.
Aside from submerging myself in sports journalism through the numerous sessions offered, my cohort and I were able to socialize through fun outings planned by the ASU faculty. After attending an Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Seattle Mariners baseball game, I had a pool night at the rooftop pool at the Sun Devil Fitness Center. I met several amazing student journalists and ASU faculty and immediately got close to them through these outings, which I’m eternally grateful for.
On the morning of the last day, after attending the various sessions and electives, my cohort and I showcased our work to the rest of the cohort. I decided to pick my piece from my favorite session, which was podcasting, and talked about my love for audio journalism and what I learned in the session. Afterwards, my cohort and I spent the rest of the time we had left, sharing our last moments together before we were all headed home.
Even though sports journalism isn’t my passion, I’m glad I was able to explore this type of beat to contribute to our publication’s sports coverage. Throughout my time at Camp Cronkite, I learned how to use multimedia coverage through videos and photos to enhance storytelling, brainstorm a variety of sports angles and develop a stronger understanding of sports in order to immerse myself and the publication.
Despite the scorching Arizona heat, I’m thankful I got to call myself a Sun Devil during this summer.
