Student writers get paid, college credit for work
BROKEN BOW Since the beginning of the fall sports program, students at Arnold High School have been writing articles about the events of the South Loup Bobcats. Those six Arnold High School students and their instructor visited the Custer County Chief, Thursday, Nov. 18.
With the Chief not having a sports reporter currently, General Manager, Donnis Hueftle-Bullock has reached out to many of the area schools’ journalism, annual or yearbook staff to see if they could help.
“I have really enjoyed getting to know many of the school staff and students during the fall sports season,” Hueftle-Bullock stated. “With the personal visit of the Arnold students and their instructor, we can now put a face to the story or photo we receive.”
The Arnold students receive income from the Chief for their writing and photography. They will also be able to put on their resume as they go out in life that they were a correspondent for a published paper.
Arnold English teacher Nicole Badgley has taken this program one step further. The students are also receiving college credit.
Badgley worked with Mid-Plains Community College and for the past few years, students who have been contributing stories to the Arnold Sentinel receive a college credit at the end of the year.
Badgley said the time at the Chief was well spent. “(The students) learned a lot about energetic and colorful leads,” she said, adding that one of the students said it’s easier to write now, knowing what the Chief wants and needs.
“The part that stuck out to me was the fact that they are creating a part of history,” Badgley added. “These articles and their names will be on the top of articles in scrapbooks for the future.”
Chief Editor Mona Weatherly said it’s a triple win. “The students receive real-life experience writing for an audience beyond their school, they get paid and they get college credit. We at the Chief get coverage of stories and the photos that we might not otherwise have. And our readers get articles written with a lot of energy and different voices.”
Weatherly went on to say, “The students are very open to learning what they can be doing better and what more they can do. And when it comes down to it, no matter what career path they choose, effective communication will be key. These students are learning how to do that.”
As the Chief moves forward in the coming winter sporting season, we will continue to rely on students and facility to assist us with keeping the school events on the pages of the