School publications across the Greater Houston area took part in a journalism workshop hosted by the Texas Association of Journalism Educators at Rice University on Sept. 6.
Lectures led by one or two of 20 experienced journalists reached students and advisors from publications such as Kingwood Park, Caney Creek, Bellaire and 28 other schools around the city.
Sessions on entertainment, grammar, photo editing, career profiles, interviewing and other topics ran 25 minutes long and spanned from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Students were able to sign up and attend any of the workshops they had an interest in.
Alief Taylor High School freshman Savannah Nguyen is a first-year staff member on the school’s publication. Her advisor “Ms. Mendoza” invited her to attend the field trip with the rest of their staff.
“Their workshop sessions were really cool because each instructor had their own personality and their own ways of conveying their presentations,” Nguyen said. “All of their points were crucial for us reporters, and I definitely learned a lot from them.”
TAJE’s private school representative and student publications advisor at St. John’s School David Nathan held sessions on how to write entertainment reviews, long-form student journalism and 99 common grammar errors.
“It’s the beginning of the year, everybody’s got all this energy, they come in with all this enthusiasm and I want them to get out there and make the most of their years,” Nathan said. “I’m just trying to get them going.”
First-year Three Penny Press staffer Ava Novak attended six sessions throughout the day.
“The most interesting session that we went to was the entertainment one, because the person leading it was super funny, engaging and answered a lot of questions I had about being able to get fast coverage.” Novak said. “He was also like, ‘Here’s how you get free stuff’ which I thought was super funny. I actually plan on reaching out to PR teams for my next entertainment story.”
Vendor stations were set up from the start of the event until lunch time, with publications such as Walsworth, Sam Houston State University and CADY Studios displaying a variety of yearbooks and newspapers for passersby to view and browse.
Junior Ericka Chanchavac from Alief Taylor High School is a first-year yearbook staffer. She previously spent her freshman year on the school’s newspaper, but later found an interest in the yearbook.
“I really liked the scrapbook that was on display,” Chanchavac said. “I thought the use of different handwriting instead of typical print was eye-catching. I feel like it made the connections between the yearbooks and viewers really fun.”
After pizza was served for lunch, special guest speaker Lisa Falkenberg, 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner and vice president of the Houston Chronicle, gave an hour-long closing statement.
About 10 minutes were allotted for a Q&A segment following the lecture. Questions about Falkenberg’s interest in journalism, how she prepares for interviews, and censorship she has faced were some of what was asked by students in the audience and which Falkenberg herself answered.
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“Even if the wave of inspiration is not there, the muse is not singing to you, sit down,” Falkenberg said. “Make your fingers tight. If you still write by hand, make your pencil move.”
To stay in the loop about TAJE and upcoming events, follow @txaje on Instagram or email Greater Houston events organizer Megan Ortiz @[email protected].
zara bukhari • Sep 12, 2025 at 7:58 pm
excellent coverage Zoe! thank you for covering this very important event 🙂