My Captivating Experience At Princeton’s Summer Journalism Program

Story and photos by Maestro Joyner.

From July 1st to August 5th, 2024, I participated in the Princeton Summer Journalism Program, a hybrid summer program for high school juniors from limited-income backgrounds who are interested in journalism. Students who were selected first attended an online 4-week meeting where they completed assignments, participated in discussions, and built community with other participants. They then participated in a 10-day in-person experience at Princeton University for free, which included transportation to and from campus. 

While on campus, participants sat through lectures, participated in workshops, collaborated in discussion groups, did reporting assignments around the area, got mentorship and feedback from PSJP staff who are alumni or professional journalists, and went to popular publications such as The New York Times, Vox Magazine, Bloomberg and many others. Lastly, participants built community with their peers—all while gaining experience on a college campus—an Ivy league one at that.   

I had an insightful experience during the online section of the program, as I wanted to learn more about the professional side of print and digital journalism. When given reading assignments, reporting assignments, lectures, and workshops, I learned many things such as how to read the news, find a story angle, understand politics, and journalism. I applied what I learned to help understand the tasks and projects my peers and I were given.

My experience was phenomenal. I traveled to a new area on the east coast and learned that Princeton University has its own town and station on the Amtrak line called “Princeton Junction,” which is still not the university. I had to ride the “Dinky”, a small train that connected the station to the university. I found this captivating, since I’ve never seen a specialized train for a location before. 

On the first day, I was already astonished by the estate that Princeton was built on. I learned that it was designed in a traditional, older style. And, that the campus was under constant repair towards the goal of becoming a net-zero campus. After eating, everyone was introduced to the program by Dr. Jason R. Klugman, the senior director of the College Preparation Initiative at Princeton, who gave us insight on what would be happening during the next nine days. We jumped right into a workshop about turning ideas into stories. 

I was specifically interested in how journalists turn ideas into stories. It Intrigued me since I always wondered how journalists turned bits and pieces about events into full blown stories that communicate the what, who, when, why, and how to the general public. After we split up into discussion groups, we started building the foundation of what we wanted to write about for the Princeton newspaper and blog. The options of op-ed, sports, entertainment, person on the street, political, or feature gave us the freedom as journalists to dive deep into topics that interested or challenged us. 

At Princeton, I slept in a college dorm with roommates. The dorm was huge. It fit four people, with two people sharing a room together. The size of the bed was perfect, and the closet was spacious enough for the clothes I brought with me. My favorite things about the dorm were the rocking chairs, as it was very fun to move back and forth while I did work at the desk.

The only downside was that the bathroom was communal and it was a tedious journey from my bed to the bathroom. Also, there was no lock on the outside the door, so if we locked ourselves out we would have to call someone to unlock it. But other than that, I had a peaceful time in the dorm.

Other highlights from the experience included a baseball game—it was my first one—where the Double-A Affiliate to the New York Yankees, the Somerset Patriots played against the Double-A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Sea Dogs. I got to photograph a different sport other than basketball and grew quite fond of it. At the end of the game, I got to run across the base, where I realized how big it actually is. 

Another highlight was discussing ethical dilemmas where we reviewed actual cases and then decided whether to publish an article based on the circumstances. We then compared our conclusions to what actually happened. 

The last major highlight was our all-day trip to New York, where we visited notable publications like Bloomberg, The New York Times, and Vox Magazine. We got an exclusive look inside, seeing different types of rooms for different types of communications. And we saw copies of issues that were yet to be released. This is what really solidified the idea that journalism is the career for me. 

Taking advantage of opportunities like this is important, because without experiencing this program, I wouldn’t have the connections I have now, including counselors who are helping me with college. When opportunities that are in your field of interests are available, apply yourself and apply to them, so you can gain a head start. You’ll gain networks as a resource, the experience of a lifetime, and bonds that could last. 

Maestro Joyner is a senior at Friendship Collegiate Academy.