Tyler Morren
Sugar Beet Staff Reporter
Big City living in the Windy City. Earlier this month seven students had the opportunity to experience the Chi-Town. The Buffalo yearbook and Sugar Beet student publications adviser, Brian Nelson, took a group of juniors from Garden City High School to Chicago, Illinois. The students were hand selected by their teachers and editors. Oliver Nguyen, Kyle Doll, Emily Ortiz, Nathan Morren, Lane Durst, Anelle Garcia and Karime Loya-Enriquez made up the group of students who traveled to the Land of Lincoln. Selected students left Nov. 1, traveling by vehicle to Denver International Airport to board their afternoon flight to Chicago.
“We primarily attended the Journalism Education Association, JEA, convention. It was to advance students’ knowledge and skills in publications in both newspaper and yearbook,” Nelson said.
The students were given the opportunity to expand their skills in reading, writing and photography.
“When I went to the conventions, I learned how to find the stories people want to read about and also what interests people when searching for a story to write about,” Oliver Nguyen, Sugar Beet junior, said.
Yearbook staff members learned something similar.
“I learned new trends, new layouts and how to organize and write out my ideas more clearly from the sessions,” Annelle Garcia, yearbook junior, said.
Other than attending JEA conventions, the group of students and chaperones spent their remaining time going out on the town and experiencing Chicago first-hand.
“Students were given the opportunity to explore the Windy City by engaging in activities such as viewing the city from an observation deck, dining experiences, shopping, and exploring the city,” Nelson added.
The chaperones took the students on an excursion called 360 Chicago, which offers an observatory deck with views of Chicago’s skyline and Lake Michigan from the 94th floor of the John Hancock building.
“I enjoyed discovering Chicago and the night life. The atmosphere is totally different than Garden City as it gave me perspective of how big the city really is,” Nguyen said.
Some highlights from the trip include visiting Millennium Park, eating Chicago style pizza, exploring the Field Museum of Natural History and shopping on Magnificent Mile.
“My favorite part about visiting Chicago was walking around, seeing the beautiful buildings, and seeing all the diversity of a large city,” Garcia said.
Students were given an experience of a lifetime to explore a city 884 miles away from Garden City. These select few were given the opportunity to understand big city living through sightseeing and exposure to Chicago culture.
Tyler Morren is a public service senior. Contact him at morrent@student.gckschools.com.
Garden City High School 