Student of the Month: Miriam Sponsler
By: Miriam Sponsler
Editor-in-Chief
Writing about yourself is always difficult, trying to find the right words to say in order to compliment yourself without sounding totally conceited. So, forgive me as I attempt to describe my success throughout my high school career.
I hate sports. I love watching baseball and lacrosse and the occasional football game, but playing them requires a certain coordination and talent that I lack. I’ve attempted many sports in the past, including soccer, cross country and track, all of which never worked out. Instead, I put my energy into clubs such as Link Crew and Lifeteen, a group at my church. I put all my effort into the groups that I participate in. I’m on the Link Crew board for Canton, and I’m on the council for Lifeteen. I am also a core member for a middle school youth group called Edge. Although I don’t play a sport that requires three hour practices after a seven hour school day, I manage to stay pretty busy.
When it comes to academics, I’m considered above average. I’ve been on the honor roll throughout all my years of high school. I have a GPA of 3.72, and received the highest grade in classes including Algebra 1, Geometry, English 9, American Literature, Advanced Composition, and Spanish I and II. Teachers usually love me because I’m not afraid to participate and I’m willing to help other students that may be struggling. I am a hard worker, and I refuse to do anything if I am unable to give it a hundred percent.
I like to think I’m a pretty cool person. I work hard, I love to have fun, and I’m trustworthy and loyal. I love being around people and doing whatever sounds like a good time. I’ve been through a lot of difficult times in my life, but I’ve been able to overcome them and become the person I am today. My name is Miriam Sponsler, and this is why I’m awesome.
Fall is here and the college admission process is approaching with the cold weather. It’s time to bundle up, sit down, and knock out those dreaded college essays.
Regardless of the topic, it is important to know what the purpose of these essays. College essays help reveal interests and passions that couldn’t possibly be portrayed through a transcript. Your essays will help show the admissions officers your character and give them a sense of who you are as well as show off your writing skills.
Essay prompts are typically broad, allowing you to write about just about anything. This is great because it allows for a lot of freedom, but it can also be intimidating.
Picking a topic is the first step to writing a college essay. This is easier said than done, and most students struggle with this part. Start off by brainstorming. Brainstorming can be done in a number of ways. One way is to list off some of your best personality traits to incorporate into the paper.
Another form of brainstorming is free writing. Free writing is where one writes about anything that comes to mind and keeps writing. This is a simple and creative way to pick a topic that would have never been thought of otherwise.
Rima Charara, a Salem senior, used the free writing method to pick her topic, "I was having a hard time deciding on a topic; I had a few in mind, but free writing helped me figure out which topic I had the most to talk about."
When it comes to starting the first draft of your essay, let it flow. Don’t focus on mistakes. At this point, the most important thing is simply getting thoughts down in a rough outline—editing will come later.
Next, make sure your essay has a structure. It doesn’t have to follow a strict rule, but it is important to have an introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction should briefly preview what the essay is about, and the conclusion should quickly summarize the essay and will be similar to the intro. The body is the main part of the essay that will go into the most depth and give details about the topic.
It is crucial to stick to a topic when writing. This sounds obvious, but it can be easy to drift away and get off topic if precautions aren't taken. Keep the main idea in mind throughout the writing process and be sure that all writing supports that idea.
It may be tempting to go off and list your outstanding grades and extracurriculars, but be careful, this can result in a boring essay that admissions officers are sick of. Plus, your transcripts will tell them all they need to know about grades, use the essay to show the admissions officers what you are like, not your grades.
In all, college essays are what you make them. Use some brainstorming techniques to help with creativity, showcase your best traits, and stay on topic when writing. Keep these tips in mind when writing to make college essays less painful.
The hands on experience I received as a Girls State journalist was unique. As a reporter, I had the opportunity to slither through conversations and events, picking up details and breaking news as I went along. I interviewed girls about their motives and ambitions, sometimes exposing juicy details or spicing up a story or two. For a brief week, I merely tasted the sensational loop that political journalism is. It’s fast-paced, intensive, and nutty.
The girls I worked with were an intelligent bunch. Their diverse skills and personalities intensified the momentum of the newsroom. At the conclusion of the week, I had received the Editor's Award for my position as managing editor.
Along with the education, came meeting new people. Some came from 20 minutes away, others were 10 hours away. The girls I met were astonishing: all of them came with unique histories and an abundance of stories to tell. Our days were long and compacted. We would spend late-lingering nights and early mornings amending political platforms, voting for those running for office, or speaking about women’s roles in government.
I went to ALA Girls State to further my education in Michigan’s local and state government, but what I received in one week at Michigan State University was much more than that. I learned social skills, work skills, and experienced something only few in the nation can say they did. I took a chance and blossomed.
Photo illistration by Miriam Sponsler
College Essay Tips
By: Lauren Flynn
Photo Editor
FEATURES
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
When I got the call that I was accepted to attend Girls State, I was terrified. What exactly is Girls State? At the time of my acceptance, I didn’t quite know either.
I was told about the program by one of my teachers, and for fun, I decided to fill out an application. The application invited students interested in government, economics, history, and journalism. With slight interest, I filled it out during lunch and submitted it the next hour.
As I soon learned, Girls State is a fast-paced, interactive, mock-government program that takes place in states all across the country. Usually hosted at Michigan State University for Michigan participants, 300-some girls from all corners of the Great Lakes State and beyond came to experience a week of intensive activities, revolving around local and state government. The program is hosted by the American Legion Auxiliary, the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization, which was founded in 1919.
I arrived on a musky Sunday morning in June, and was bid-farewell with the tears from my mother and greeted with the smiles of new faces. I set my luggage in my temporary dorm, and commenced with the making of friends.
The program ran itself on the principles of the Michigan Constitution. Girls State, a fictional 51st state with 300+ female citizens, was divided into four counties. Each of those four counties contained three cities. I was a resident of Wojack city (population:30), which belonged to Webster county. Our job as citizens of Girls State was to run the state smoothly with the structure of Michigan’s local and state government. We were to solve any problems efficiently with guidance from the law. Each girl was elected or appointed into an office of local, county, or state level. Jobs included city manager, city council member, county sheriff, state Supreme Court, governor, lieutenant governor, and many more. Luckily for me, another job lurked in the distance: press association.
To my advantage, I had more press experience than the other girls running due to my semester of Intro to Journalism. With a short speech and a confident, yet shaky smile, I was chosen press representative, one of 12 from Girls State.
In previous years, news coverage traveled by print. This year was different. Our advisor, Amber Lacroix, former journalist and now University of Michigan Communications staff, encouraged us to go digital; the Girls State Press Association was going online. Our vehicle to communicate was a blog, with Twitter as a handy sidekick. The blog consisted of a jumble of sections. Along with news about events unfolding in our state, there were horoscopes, interviews with staff or girls, and a medley of feature articles.
Photos courtesy of Natasha Pietruschka
Natasha Pietruschka (top photo, standing) attends a journalism program at Michigan State University.
Welcome to Girls State
By: Natasha Pietruschka
Art Director
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Over the past two years, P-CEP’s student-run radio station, 88.1 The Park, has broadened its horizons from being locally recognized to being nationally recognized. 2015 marked the second time in a row that the station was nominated as a finalist for a Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for Non-Commercial Station of the Year. 88.1 The Park remains the only high school station to have ever been nominated for this award.
“I think the significance of this nomination is that we were a bit out of our league and we were up against and compared to college and professional stations as a high school station,” said Station Manager for 88.1 The Park, Bill Keith. “It was exciting to be in Atlanta and to be recognized among the best radio stations in the country.”
The awards dinner and Radio Show daytime conferences took place at the Marriot Marquis hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. As Program Director for 88.1 the Park, I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to attend the Marconi Awards both times that the station was nominated. This year, the station took a group including the three directors for 88.1 the Park; myself, Music Director Kaley Ross, and Sports Director Michael Adzima to Atlanta. I was so glad that we were able to experience this event that many professionals in radio broadcasting never get the chance to attend. A Marconi Award is essentially like a Grammy Award for radio broadcasting, and being nominated for one two years in a row as a high school station was just amazing.
“My favorite part of going to the awards was seeing the reaction that we got from other radio stations about the fact that we were nominated as a high school station,” said Assistant Manager for 88.1 The Park, John Kreger, “It was great to see high school students from the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park among the best in the country and get to walk on radio’s red carpet. It’s a testament to how special we are as a district and a station.”
Although I was disappointed to have not come home with the award, that was overshadowed by how proud I was of all of the hard work that got 88.1 The Park to the awards as a finalist in the first place.
“I don’t think that I’ll ever forget the looks on our students’ faces,” added Kreger, “It was so special to be able to see this experience through their eyes.”
Photos courtesy of Caitlin Flora
From left: John Kreger, Michael Adzima, Caitlin Flora, Kaley Ross, Lauren Cummings
Bill Keith (left) the station manager and Lauren Cummings (right) at the Marconi Awards.
P-CEP Radio Station Recognized Nationally
By: Caitlin Flora
Head Copy Editor
Thursday, October 22, 2015