Student begins her first draft. 
Students begin to look for photos for their assignment.
As the week begins, students in the Bobby Hawthorne Experience have gotten to work on their first assignment. By writing a variety of stories in the next few days, Hawthorne said he hopes students will find and refine their voice and make their writing more interesting.
“I want an interesting story told in an original voice,” Hawthorne said.
Prithvi Joshi, a senior at East Lansing High School, said she is excited to learn from Hawthorne, improve her writing skills and find her voice.
“I’m excited to get my stories roasted and improve on the stories I did last year,” Joshi said.
Meghan Wysocki, a sophomore at Grosse Pointe South High School, said she wants to learn from the experts and grow as a journalist as well.
“I’m excited to discover new things no one has taught me in a class before, and (Hawthorne’s) honesty is truly refreshing,” Wysocki said.
The class began working on a new assignment, which requires students to write the story behind a personal photograph.
“He’s trying to show that a picture can show a thousand words, and you can write a lot about something as small as a photo,” Joshi said.
Hawthorne said his overall goal for this week is to help students find their voice and express it in their writing through assignments such as today’s.
“Trust your voice,” Hawthorne said. “You have a voice and you know how to use it, so use it.”
Hawthorne added that he hopes this week’s lectures and editing will help students understand the beauty of journalism.
“I want them to enjoy the same kick I get out of (writing) and know that writing and reporting can actually be fun,” Hawthorne said. “It’s work, but when you’re finished you have a product you can be really proud of, and you should want to write stories and find stories. That’s the fun in journalism.”
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