The day was hot and the breezes warm on a Sunday afternoon in mid-June when 19 high school students from around the Bay Area strode, trudged or sauntered into the Washburn Hall dormitory to report for the Mosaic journalism program hosted by the Mercury News -- our 20th member arrived two days later.
Excitement and nervousness hung thick in the air between us, but the awkwardness lasted no more than a few minutes. Some of us knew we wanted to be journalists and others came to test the waters, but despite our various backgrounds and hobbies, we all had one thing in common: a love of writing and photography. This friendly atmosphere and growing camaraderie carried us through the next two weeks.
During the next 12 days, our instructors gave us a crash course in real journalism unlike anything we had done in school, with resources and possibilities we had only dreamed about. From interviewing and photographing gang members to city council members, anime fans to doctors, we set out to learn what journalism was all about. For the time being at least, we were real journalists out on a mission to tell a story. While some struggled with the sudden freedom, wanting an editor to tell them what to write about, others thrived under our editors' urgings to write about what we loved. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Why waste it on topics for which we held no passion?
For me at least, it wasn't until the third day, when we sat before a panel of professional journalists, that the uniqueness of this opportunity struck me. They were there for us to question, and to offer us their experiences and their advice. What better instructors could we have than the genuine articles?
They taught us by sending us out for hands-on work, asking us questions and racking our brains until we fell into our beds at night. The groaning on deadline days was not enough to dampen our spirits. Before we knew it, the time was up and we were on our way home, but the times we shared will never be forgotten.
While some of us may become journalists and others will move on to other careers, two things are certain: Our Mosaic experiences were priceless -- and the deadlines will march on.