Pulitzer Center Update September 3, 2024
Lylee Gibbs on the Weekend Workshop
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A three-day workshop in April 2024 hosted by Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The workshop...
This last weekend, on Aug. 24, Southern Illinois University’s journalism program came together to celebrate work we produced back in April. For most schools, this might have meant taking the afternoon to celebrate the work in the allotted time. For us, however, this meant the celebrations spilled over into a weekend-long reunion of ‘photo family’ love.
Pulitzer Center grantee and workshop mentor Justin Cook drove me and some other students to my hometown of Du Quoin, Illinois. We walked around the local Du Quoin State Fair. I worked on photo coverage for the university newspaper, The Daily Egyptian. Justin helped me find moments to make into photos.
The next day, we met in the afternoon for the weekend’s main event: our opening reception and panel. Panelists Dominique Martinez-Powell, Enan Chediak, Deangelo Handley, and I had important conversations. We also talked about how much we appreciate this program. Cook moderated. Our professor, Julia Rendleman, smiled hard. We took silly photos, made jokes, and spoke with members of the community who showed up to give us their support. This panel opened the door to a plethora of opportunities.
Our workshop weekend in April and the August symposium were among the most fun and rewarding experiences I have had during my entire scholastic career. We are lucky as students to be taught by a dedicated and passionate professor and surrounded by committed mentors like Cook. We have the biggest group of cheerleaders for a small program of hardworking kids. Weekends like this one help us all to realize that special things indeed do happen through local journalism.
