Friday was Youth Media Day at USC, with 87 high school students from the Los Angeles area spending the day at Annenberg. The School for Communication and Journalism welcomed students from Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet School, Downey, Arcadia and Inglewood high schools to participate in media workshops, activities and a tour of the Annenberg Media Center.
Youth Media Day, which used to be called High School Day, has not been held in person since fall 2019. Brittany Hart Scholten, the Civic Engagement Coordinator at Annenberg, noticed a change in the event’s impact on students between the online and in-person Youth Media Day.
“We did follow through on Zoom during that time [after fall 2019],” Hart Scholten said. “But now that we’re back in person, students are really able to get more out of campus; they’re able to go in the media center and do interactive activities. I think it’s more inspiring in person.”
The day began with opening remarks from Scholten, Dr. Gordon Stables, the School of Journalism Director, and keynote speaker Kymia Freeman.
Freeman, a second year majoring in public relations and modern art markets and ethics, shared her story and past experience at the Annenberg Youth Academy with the students.
The Annenberg Youth Academy is a four-week long summer program that offers L.A. high school students the opportunity to learn about writing, ethnography, public speaking and multimedia production from professionals. Freeman, a first-generation student, spoke about the impact that attending the AYA program had on her journey to USC. When Freeman participated in AYA, the program was entirely held online due to COVID-19.
“Once the pandemic hit, all I could think about was keeping myself and my family safe,” Freeman said. “I had forgotten about my application.”
After her admission and participation in AYA, Freeman applied to USC Annenberg and began her studies in journalism. During the start of her sophomore year, Freeman made the decision to switch her major to public relations with a minor in modern art markets and ethics. She ended her speech with a message to students.
“Standing up here today, I see myself two years ago,” Freeman said. “I encourage you to put yourself at the forefront. If the answer is ever no, don’t be afraid to change, to pivot, to let go.”
After the introductory words from Hart Scholten, Stables and Freeman, students moved on to the rest of the day. As they moved from workshops to tours to activities and back, many of the students reflected on their possible future in media. Nallive Espazas, a junior at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet School, spoke on her experience at Youth Media Day as a student at a pre-med focused school.
“Bravo is a medical based school that works in the medical space. I think having access to [and] going to Media Day at USC gives a new perspective that we aren’t really introduced to at school,” Espazas said. “And I think that’s definitely going to be eye opening for students, my peers. Especially me, this is amazing.”
The purpose of Youth Media Day at USC is to expose high school students in L.A. to possible career paths in the realm of media, and what a future at USC studying journalism, public relations or communications could look like for them.
“It’s really a great opportunity for these students to see themselves in media, and also just turn on to the study of communication, public relations and journalism.” Hart Scholten said. “We’re just trying to inspire folks, diversify media and have them see themselves potentially studying these things in the future.”