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Passion in practice: MIPA adviser shares her teaching journey

July 23, 2024 by Miranda Urbanczyk

Michelle Fulton sits in the East Shaw lounge before meeting her students who are attending the MIPA conference. They will eat lunch together in the cafeteria, and she always looks forward to hearing about what they are learning. [Photo by Natalie Garwood]

The Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) welcomes a variety of schools into their program each summer. With each school and its associated students comes an adviser who sends their students to this program in hopes of them bringing back their newfound skills to class.

Holt High School teacher, Michelle Fulton has been teaching English for 18 years. And 11 of those have included her advising in the school’s yearbook. Fulton is eager to see the growth of her students throughout this camp. 

Specifically, Fulton hopes her students improve their photography skills so they can produce quality pictures for their upcoming yearbook. In addition, she has two students enrolled in design classes. While their theme is already established, Fulton wants these students to expand on spreads and templates for their yearbook’s design. 

Not only are these students gaining valuable information, but they share it with Fulton, which allows her to grow in her position. She describes one of her students enrolled in design class as a prime example of this. 

“She’s taught me more about InDesign and graphic design than any of the classes I have taken,” Fulton said. 

Fulton first discovered MIPA through its fall workshops, which then led to attending the spring awards. She started to realize the value in MIPA summer camp when she observed MIPA’s effect on students. Fulton quickly recognized a pattern — the journalists who received awards were also the ones  who attended MIPA.

“You can definitely see the improvement in our books every year because of this camp,” Fulton said.

As an English teacher, Fulton uses her yearbook classes as her personal creative outlet. “The highlight of my career is doing these types of things,” she said. Having this passion allows her to channel her ideas to her students, ensuring a collaborative and innovative experience. 

Being involved in yearbook was never on the radar for Fulton. But, a position opened at her school and she started training to fill the spot. After she became grounded in what she was doing, she became fascinated with all aspects of her job. She likes design so much that she can imagine it always being a part of her life. 

Filed Under: News

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#MIPA2014 2010 airplanes announcements bobby hawthorne Chad Sanders design entertainment feature coverage graphics indesign infographics journalism julia satterthwaite karlgude Karl Gude Megan Pisarczyk michigan interscholastic press association MIPA mipa2011 MIPA 2011 MIPA 2012 mipa2013 MIPA 2014 MIPA2016 MIPA 2018 MIPA camp mipa workshop MSU music newspaper opinion photography press conference Smile you're on camera sparty winner sports sports coverage The Bobby Hawthorne Experience upstart video volleyball workshop writing yearbook

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