Recent Ojai Valley School graduates Lilli Trompke and Jaclyn Sersland have continued their love of journalism in their first year at college, both earning positions at their school’s newspapers, gaining spots over hundreds of applicants.
Lilli and Jaclyn were driving forces in OVS’s journalism program for their junior and senior years, which they say led them to wanting to pursue journalism in college. And as for Lilli, she aspires to be a journalist as her professional career.
“Last year, after I wrote an article about the seniors leaving the equestrian team, I remember all the people telling me how much the article moved them or even made them cry,” Jaclyn said. “I loved the thought of my writing having an impact on people, and just the idea of that influenced me to continue.”
Jaclyn is attending George Washington University in Washington DC, and is planning on earning a double-major in criminal justice and journalism and mass communications on a pre-law track. Lilli is attending the University of Washington, majoring in pre-social sciences but she plans to transfer to communications eventually to pursue journalism.
“Before I took journalism at OVS I wasn’t even interested in it, I never thought it would be this fun,” Lilli said.
Lilli explains that if it was not for her experience at OVS, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be set apart from over 130 other applicants and be one of the 40 selected to write for the newspaper for the first quarter.
“The people that I was going up against were editors at newspapers for years and had been doing a lot of amazing stuff for journalism,” Lilli said. “So if I haven’t had any experience I don’t think I would’ve gotten in.”
The interview process that Jaclyn and Lilli went through was long and strenuous. Both girls sent their work from On the Hill and previous OVS blogs. Jaclyn had to write a sample article 300 to 500 words long, choosing a news piece overall to earn a spot writing for The Hatchet. In order to be hired for the position at UW’s The Daily, Lilli is required to write three stories – two being news pieces and one being a collaboration with a student in photography class. When she finishes these requirements for the upcoming quarter, she can be hired again. And if she gets the job, Lilli will be paid for every story she submits.
“[Being hired for the position] would be amazing because being a paid journalist freshman year of college is kind of insane to think about,” Lilli said.
Lilli and Jaclyn have been inspired by Mr. Alvarez and their experience in journalism class at OVS.
“Alvarez’s class taught me what to expect,” Jaclyn said. “Writing for a college newspaper had many surprises too and is very different from writing at OVS.”
“I’m incredibly proud of Lilli and Jaclyn for being able to join the staffs of their college newspapers. I’m very excited about what they’re doing in college, and even more excited about they might do with their reporting skills in the future, whether that be taking on journalism as a career, or using journalism in some other career,” said journalism teacher Fred Alvarez. “Lilli and Jaclyn made me proud, incredibly proud while they were here, and they continue to do so.”