The Upstart

Covering the 2026 MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop

MIPA Class Round-Up

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By Belle Potter, Ella Yip and Matt Rumsey

At the MIPA Summer Journalism Workshop, funny business isn’t tolerated. Every choice is made with strict intentionality. There’s a purpose for anything and everything—even if that includes blowing bubbles into the face of a friend, giggling as the iridescent orbs pop one by one. In the Art of Storytelling class, taught by Julia Satterthwaite, soapy spheres bounced around the room during a lull in the writing process. To reignite their student’s creativity, Satterthwaite and writing coach Tracy Anderson had their students take unique photos of bubbles, which they shared and discussed with the class.

“Capturing the kind of life and essence and the feeling of that person [was fun]. It wasn’t just a frozen picture of Julia Satterthwaite with the bubble but [one] in motion,” Anderson said.

But the fun didn’t end in room C302. In the Broadcast News class, students took turns sharing the roles of the newsroom—some as anchors, others as graphic designers and the rest as tech assistants. As campers practiced the various positions, slip ups in the script and other technical difficulties were captured on-screen. Instead of being disappointed in their faults, students keeled over laughing, moving on with ease.

During class on July 20, Broadcast News student Piper Hylen takes over the audio and script controls after taking her turn as anchor. Hylen’s primary role during this session was acting as an anchor for the MIPA Today broadcast.
“It’s really cool to see your work in action after [filming] and seeing the result of what you put together,” student Iris Moore said. “I also like to see my face and know that other people are watching [my work].”
Broadcast News student Addison Poe clips a microphone onto her t-shirt before practicing as an anchor on July 20. Poe helped design the MIPA Today logo seen in the back of their broadcasts.

in the Level Up Leadership class, students ran “hotseat” for five to 10 minutes a day. They engaged in asking open ended questions and follow up questions to simulate connectivity and collection with staff. All of the material practiced by participants is applicable to their home publications and staff handbooks.

“I really loved seeing them slowly get more goofy with each other and ask silly questions. We were opening up, we were learning how to have fun with each other and this is the purpose of hot seat,” ambassador Abby Hosler said.

Familiarity with their peers is similar to the familiarity campers are gaining with digital programs, such as design students getting to know InDesign and how to use it. The workshop offers two design centric classes: InDesign for Publications, a beginner level class, and Design Like a Pro, an advanced course.

Instructor Randy Yeip assists a student in his Design Like A Pro class on July 21. During this class, students observed a lesson on text and image placement to create a cohesive layout.
“I came in as a beginner and I had never done yearbook before,” student Madison Harris said. “Ms. Hall really helped walk me through how to use InDesign and a lot about graphic design itself because I was coming in blind. I feel like I’m a lot more prepared now.”
InDesign for Publication student learns how to pair fonts and work with the basic functions of InDesign, such as tools like text wrap and alignment on July 21. The class was recommended to serve beginner designers.