UJW links students to professional news world

Students scurry around San Antonio to conduct interviews and prepare for the next big story. The pressure rises each day as deadline approaches.

The Urban Journalism Workshop isn't like other summer camps. It takes hard work and a dedication to get the job done and is more like a class or boot camp.

"I feel really good about it," Clemens senior Taylor Tompkins said. "I have a lot of experiences that I wouldn't get anywhere else."

The UJW is a workshop for students who share a common interest in journalism at San Antonio College. Professional journalists, college students and journalism faculty from various universities serve as mentors and counselors during the workshop. Some of the mentors were once workshop attendees themselves.

"I love to help the students, and it's really rewarding as far as being able to have someone ask you questions," said Cynthia Esparza, who attended the workshop in 1998 and now works as a photojournalist at the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Director Irene Abrego has been in charge of the workshop since 1995.

"I was 26 when I started journalism here (at SAC)," Abrego said. "One of the faculty asked me if I would be a dorm RA for their summer workshop, and I thought that was kind of cool."

Twenty-four years later, it all comes down to the final product, she said.

In the end the mentors and students develop strong ties.

"It's hard not to develop strong ties to someone you work with in journalism because you have a shared goal, a shared deadline, and it requires teamwork," Abrego said.

Workshop students live in newly opened dormitories at the University of the Incarnate Word, just a few miles from the SAC campus.

"It's nice that we get the new dorms," Bandera senior Megan Greebon said. "I wasn't expecting that at all, but I like it."

San Antonio College students help with stories and dorm life as residence assistants. Zahra Farah, who attended the workshop as a high school student in 2008, is back to help.

"I understand their frustration, if they get upset, or if things don't happen as planned, so I can relate to them," she said.

"I try to help them avoid mistakes I have made in the workshop."

During the workshop, students meet new people and are exposed to new experiences, from ethnic cuisine to miniature golf.

"I got to meet (San Antonio Express-News columnist) Cary Clack, and he's a great writer," Marshall senior Ignacio Treviño said. "I think he's hilarious, and he's really cool like he remembered my name, which is something I was really psyched about."

A highlight each year for students is a field trip to the San Antonio Express-News.

"My favorite part was going to the San Antonio Express-News," Tompkins said. "It was really fun and I learned a lot. Just being in there in that environment was really a learning experience. I met a lot of awesome journalists."

Each student writes a story during the workshop, developing sources, doing interviews and taking photos.

"I like that it's challenging," John Jay senior Jeremy Charo said. "I've never been big on writing and that was one of the things I really wanted to learn."

The workshop helps some students decide if journalism is a viable career.

"It's taught me a lot about journalism," Treviño said. "I'm learning about the different kinds of writing styles. It's actually teaching me a lot about myself as a journalist, and it's showing me if I can make it or not."