The school journalism program attended a journalism conference in Wisconsin on Friday where they won awards and took classes in design, photography, social media, and writing.

Twenty-six Journalism 1 and Advanced Journalism students attended the Kettle Moraine Press Association (KEMPA) Fall Journalism Conference at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where they learned new skills in three 45-minute classes taught by professional journalists and photographers. Additionally, Bear Facts won the All- KEMPA award, which is above first place, and adviser Carolyn Wagner won Adviser of the Year at the KEMPA Conference as well.

“KEMPA to me is an educational opportunity for high school students to learn and grow about the journalistic world,” Carl Boettcher, photo manager at Visual Image Photography and KEMPA presenter, said.

Students who attended the conference had opportunities to choose what classes to take in order to strengthen their skills.

“I am going to take the skills [I learned] and put them into my writing and combine [what I practice in Journalism 1] and the writing skills I learned at this campus,” Meggie Furlong, freshman, said.

According to Sandy Jacoby, KEMPA president, this year’s fall conference was attended by over 900 students from over 55 schools.

“I like seeing people from different schools coming together for the same cause,” Brenda Smith, teacher at Grayslake North High School, said.

Along with the KEMPA Fall Journalism Conference, students in the journalism program have more field trips throughout the year.

Advanced Journalism students will be traveling to Washington DC this November for the Journalism Education Association conference. This national convention attracts nearly 6,000 students from across the country every fall. LZHS will be represented by 12 Bear Facts members and four yearbook members.