PUC’s 33rd Annual Publication Workshop Gives Academy Students Valuable Hands-On Experience

Pacific Union College hosted 80 students from 10 Seventh-day Adventist academies in September at the 33rd Annual Publication Workshop. It’s a yearly opportunity for student newspaper, yearbook, and video yearbook staff and sponsors to network, learn, and hone their skills.

“PUC's legendary Publication Workshop represents a unique chance for high school and academy students to learn skills in photography, design, and journalism from world-class professionals,” communications professor Eric Graham said. “The ability to work hands-on with experts and develop skills that will make their school publications come alive is a special opportunity.”

Professor of Visual Arts Tim de la Torre served as director of the workshop, held Sept. 10-12,  for the third time, though he has taught at the event for many years. His goal this year was to find ways to fine-tune the workshop based on feedback from years past. “We feel like it’s getting to its final form,” he said.

Along with de la Torre and Graham, other professors from PUC who presented included Chair of the Visual Arts Department Rajeev Sigamoney, Professor of Photography Brian Kyle, and Professor of Graphic Design Clifford Rusch—all people with extensive experience in their respective fields.

On Monday morning, students attended lectures and training. Rusch said each workshop—photography, video, writing, and design—was devoted to a specific skill set. In his session, Rusch gave a brief overview of graphic design and then focused on the skills that apply to producing a yearbook. 

“I talk about intent, objectives, process, and developing concepts. We also go over options, deciding what is important, and setting goals and a theme for the publication and the team,” Rusch said. “We then look at examples of content and layout, theme, and how to look at the publication overall rather than just in isolation as two-page spreads.”  

In the afternoon, students began working on an onsite interview project profiling a PUC faculty or staff member, culminating in a multi-page photojournalism spread. 

“The intent for the onsite project was for the schools to work together and, using tight parameters and objectives, create a piece that requires coordination of images, interview, and writing, and implementation in a layout, in a limited amount of time,” Rusch said. “The objective was not to create the perfect piece, but to learn to work together under deadline and try out some of the things they learned in the workshop sessions.”

Graham said he and other professors from the Department of Communication focused on sharpening interview and writing abilities. “We helped students polish their skills to be clear and effective journalists, finding the important and interesting pieces and parts of their home school's people and life and sharing those stories to make their publications essential and memorable,” he said. 

Anneliese Luxton, a senior at Escondido Academy, is on her school yearbook staff and in charge of all the writing and editing. 

She said she felt nervous when attending Graham’s writing lecture because she didn’t have experience conducting personal interviews and writing an article about it. But interviewing cross country running coach Drew Macomber helped Luxton understand how to get a feel for telling another person’s story.

“Writing has always been a passion of mine, but this push to start writing about people's experiences really gave me the opportunity to use those skills to get to know and feel for other people's stories and values,” Luxton said. “I can finally understand now how far we can go if we just look at the bigger picture. Everyone has a story that is part of this world's history, and it is so important because we have different experiences, lifestyles, and values that make us so special and unique!”  

On Tuesday, student teams received critiques on their project and then had time to make edits and present a final version. In the afternoon, there was an award program.

Overall, students and presenters believed the workshop was successful because of the hands-on experience.

“I saw some great camaraderie among the teams,” Rusch said. “But mostly, I think adding the chance to improve onsite work during the workshop was really valuable.”

Likewise, Andrianna Massena, PUC visit coordinator and executive assistant, said the workshop is an important event for the skills the students learn and for PUC to see how talented the academy students are. 

“We are given the opportunity to help these students cultivate the talents they already have and show them that they can continue their passion here at PUC under professors who share that same interest,” she said. 

Graham said he and the other presenters were impressed by the quality and creativity of the students.

“The students’ commitment to learning and improving was a joy to watch,” he said. “This year, the participating academies and high schools can look forward to a crop of excellent publications. We can’t wait to see the outcomes and to welcome some of these same communicators to PUC as students in the very near future.”  

Participating Academies & High Schools

• Escondido Adventist Academy
• Mountain View Academy
• Mesa Grande Academy
• Redlands Adventist Academy
• Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy
• Ukiah Junior Academy
• Lodi Academy
• San Fernando Valley Academy
• Tualatin Valley Academy
• PUC Preparatory School

PUC Publication Workshop Awards

• Excellence in Layout and Design—Lodi Academy; Runner-up Mesa Grande Academy
• Excellence in Photography—Mesa Grande Academy; Runner-up Mountain View Academy
• Excellence in Writing—Lodi Academy; Runner-up Mesa Grande Academy
• Best Yearbook—Redlands Academy
• Most Improved On-Site Publication—Tualatin Valley Academy; Runner-up Mountain View Academy
• Best On-Site Layout & Design—Redlands Academy, Runner-up Lodi Academy
• Best On-Site Photography—PUC Preparatory School; Runner-up Tualatin Valley Academy
• Best On-Site Writing—PUC Preparatory School, Runner-up Lodi Academy
• Best On-Site Video—Mesa Grande Academy