Alden Scissom

Being in 10th grade opens a lot of doors for opportunities. Your first year of high school is spent testing the waters and discovering new clubs and extra-curriculuars. For Alden Scissom, this meant continuing on in the Media Arts program. “My favorite sport is baseball and I’m a Chicago clubs fan, so naturally it made sense for me to pursue Sports Journalism.”

“I’ve always liked journalism” said Alden, joining a new class with no prior experience can be intimidating, but it can help “My best time filming was when I helped with the football game,” was his best experience as part of the class.

“I wanted to work on the sports side of production and have a clear topic for my projects” he said. As someone who likes sports, it helps to work on things you are knowledgeable about which was Aldens idea in taking this class.

There are many ways to find Arlingtons media program, maybe you’ve seen some of the stuff they have produced, maybe you know someone who is in one of the classes, maybe you saw the word journalism in the list of classes to take and you knew you had to take it. For Alden, it was the second option. “I found the class through some friends and it seemed interesting” said Alden when asked how he discovered the class.

The media program can offer a lot of creative freedom, you can make your own schedule, work at your own pace, and decide even some of the assignments you want to do. “I like the laid back style of that class though sometimes it can be a bit too laidback” he said was his favorite part of the class.

“Keep up with your work and turn it in on time to not fall behind” was his advice for people who want to take the class. With freedom comes responsibility and unfortunately, many people discover this the hard way. It’s a good idea to maintain a quality schedule and make sure you have enough time for your assignments.

Being in any journalism class requires work ethic, “normally we film once or twice a week depending on the project” he said. You also must learn new things to keep up in the class, “I’ve learned a lot of software like Final Cut Pro” said Alden. There is always a learning curve to these classes, even if you have prior experience. Alden has learned how to use new software, how to film, and other new and exciting means of production.

“The work we did for a football game last quarter” was the most interesting thing that happened in the class. The football games are a very high interest topic for Arlington High School, this provides a lot of opportunity for content and new experience.

“I really like working on the podcast” was his favorite project in the class. Podcasts are often loved by students of any class as everyone loves a good conversation and having the opportunity to record that conversation for a grade can be a fun project.

“I believe the class is good experience for the future and can help prepare you for a future career” said Alden. This class can provide a good amount of knowledge and experience that can be used towards a future career.