Journalism is a class not every school offers, but at Williston it is a long-running academic outlets for many students.

This class allows writers to be straightforward and write about things they enjoy. Journalism is an elective at Williston. Matt Liebowitz has been teaching journalism at Williston for 10 years. He was a journalist for six years before he started teaching, working as a reporter for papers including the Rancho Santa Fe Review in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif; Flash News in San Diego; The Berkeley Daily Planet in Berkeley, Calif; The Colorado Daily in Boulder, Colo., and others.

Sadie Dripps, a senior day student from South Hadley Mass., has been in the journalism class for four trimesters. She says the class has allowed her to thrive.

“When I came into Williston, my mentor and dance captain, Alexis Caines ’23, was the Editor-In-Chief of The Willistonian,” Sadie said. “I remember she told me I had to at least try the class for one trimester. My first trimester enrolled in the class was fall of my junior year, and since then I had always made The Willistonian part of my Williston experience.”

The class, Sadie said, “made me realize my love for writing, build confidence in my abilities, and help me find hidden passions.”

Those passions, including fashion writing, led to great things for Sadie. Last summer, she was accepted into a summer program working for Vogue, and now says she wants to make journalism “a big part of my future.”

Beyond the writing and posting of articles, Sadie said journalism class “was an experience in itself. It is without fail my favorite part of my day. You get to see everyone really get into topics they are interested, and Liebowitz always keeps us laughing, and you also learn so much about yourself,” she said.

Sadie loves the flexibility journalism allows her to have in her academic schedule.

“My favorite part of this class is the freedom,” she said. The class runs on a deadline schedule: students have to write the first part of the article, then gather interviews and sources, and then put it all together. Still, there is freedom and flexibility within the rigid structure.

“You get to pick a topic your interest in, research it, talk to people about this shared interest, and create a final product to educate others,” Sadie said. “I also really enjoy learning about media literacy; that is definitely something society has been lacking recently. So many people don’t know how to check reliability, or care enough to do so, but I enjoy that we learn about its importance in this class.”

Journalism is a place for everybody and any writing, Sadie says.

“At first, it may feel like you are surrounded by a lot of amazing writers and you may think you have no clue what you are doing, but you will learn fast,” she said. “As Editor-In-Chief, I have edited all ranges of writing in this class, and I promise no one is judging.”

“I also think that picking a topic you are truly passionate about to write an article on is so important,” she added. “It is obvious when someone writes about something they love because the words flow easier. So, put yourself out there and take advantage of the freedom this class offers!”

Francesca Gionfriddo, a senior from Glastonbury, Conn., really enjoyed and thrived in her time during journalism.

“I think being in the classroom where everyone is encouraged to be curious is something that is a characteristic of Williston as a whole,” she said. “Not just in journalism, but I think it’s heightened.”

Francesca’s favorite thing about journalism was editing week, where students pore over every single article in the print edition to fact check and check for typos and grammar errors. Many student are not a fan of this level of editing, but she is. The fact that Liebowitz brings bagels or donuts for each editing round doesn’t hurt.

“Obviously editing with Tandem bagels; there is nothing that can beat that,” she said. “But I really like the way Mr. Liebowitz encouraged us to choose news topics that were not only interesting to everyone else, but also interesting to us.”

Liebowitz makes the class relate to real life, Francesca says.

“I feel like in the past few months I’ve done a lot of networking, or at least talking to other people as I begin preparing for my transition to college. Everyone I have talked to has said you need to find something you love to do, you need to find something you are passionate about,” she said. “This I something Mr. Liebowitz instills in us.”

Francesca only took the class for a short amount of time but it had a large impact on her.

“I wish I could have taken it more because there is so much versatility in it, there is so much choice, and I think Williston is very lucky to have such a great program and such a great newspaper, such great editors,” she said. “I am so grateful I had the opportunity even though it was just for one trimester.”

Francesca believes getting ahead of your article will set you up for success.