By: Adam Kramer
After roughly a two-year hiatus, The Hawk is spreading its wings again.
The student-run newspaper will be publishing during the spring and fall semesters, and maintain an online version that will be updated weekly. The newspaper aims to provide students and faculty with a mix of news and opinion from the campus of Hagerstown Community College. The articles will include everything from campus politics, humor, opinions of students and staff, and arts coverage.
The first printed edition is scheduled to be distributed on campus on Monday, April 8. The online edition should be up about the same time.
The newspaper is being staffed by a team of six writers, two faculty supervisors and two designers. The Hawk is seeking other aspiring writers who hope to get valuable experience in journalism.
In a recent e-mail interview, The Hawk’s previous editor, Greg Hidrobo said his experience with the paper was memorable and useful.
“I’m very pleased to hear that students like yourself have decided to seize the opportunity to express your views. HCC will really benefit from your efforts,” he wrote. “A student paper is a great way to foster a sense of community in the student body. I’m really looking forward to reading the material you and your fellow students produce.”
Hidrobo compared the future work to that of a journal. “You will remember events in your college life that were tied to the articles you publish. Your content will become a journal in a sense and journals are great ways to look back on the life you lived at HCC,” he wrote.
Hidrobo gave tips for aspiring journalists to follow:
- Be an extrovert – someone always has a good story and it’s your job as a journalist to always approach and ask.
- Try a little of everything if you’re stuck on what to write about. Once you find your niche, stick to it.
- Always focus on Who, What, When, Where and Why.
The Hawk is a student club and a team that is still looking for members. Here’s a brief description of the people involved so far:
Advisors
Sean Maher
I’m the Instructor for Web and Multimedia Studies. I went to Jefferson High School in West Virginia and graduated with a bachelor’s of art in Graphic Design from West Virginia Wesleyan. I took over the advisor capacity of the Hawk several years ago, but getting more than a couple of volunteers always proved to be difficult. So this year I decided I wanted to ensure the Hawk could be well staffed and self-sustaining. To that end, we created the internship program where the student senior staff actually get credit for running the paper. I chose to be a part of the Hawk because I did similar work in my undergrad and it was one of the best and most rewarding professional experiences of my new career. I wanted HCC students to have a chance to say that this is a great place to start building their futures.
Eric Schwartz
I began working professionally as a journalist in Boston in 1985 after graduating with a degree in journalism and Russian from Michigan State University. I worked in the Northeast of the United States as a reporter and editor until 1997, when I moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2007, I was awarded a Knight International Journalism Fellowship, which took me first to Moscow and then to Baku, Azerbaijan, where I established journalism training programs. I began teaching political science at Hagerstown Community College in 2012.
I am excited to be part of an effort to re-establish the Hawk on the campus of HCC. I think the Hawk can be a great resource for both students and HCC staff. The Hawk will provide essential information to readers and invaluable experience for the people working on it.
The Editor and Designers
Stephen Barber
Being an aspiring journalist, I was honored when I received the position of editor-in-chief of the Hawk. I will be graduating HCC in the May of 2013 with my A.A. and hopefully transferring to UMD’s school of journalism in the fall.
Meredith Brown
My role on the Hawk staff is web designer and developer for the online version. I’m currently working on my last semester at HCC and will be graduating in May 2013 with an A.A.S in Web & Multimedia Technology. In the fall I will be transferring to Towson University to work on a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Digital Art & Design. I graduated from Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro, SC and gained my first taste of college life at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. I was a copy editor for my high school’s award winning yearbook, as well as the editor my senior year. I love working on something that allows people’s voices to be heard, not just locally but in a much broader sense. Working on the Hawk gives me the opportunity to utilize my passion for design to build a platform for students to not only showcase their work, but to also highlight student life on campus!
Dylan Rushbrook
I was born in Frederick, MD and went to school at
Smithsburg High School.
I am a Graphic Design Major. I chose to join The Hawk because I am interested in pursuing a career in designing – I’ve always considered myself good at that.
I expect the Hawk to be an informative source of news and events for the students and by the students.
The Minions
Adam Kramer
I was born in Hagerstown, MD on November 1st 1993 – I lived in Hagerstown until I was 4 years old. At that age, I moved to Malaysia with my family, where I spent almost 15 years of my life. I graduated from the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) in May of 2012 and decided to pursue my general education requirements at HCC after my family decided to move back here. Throughout my 6 years at ISKL, only in my senior year did I realize I loved to write – ironically, I had been struggling with it years before. Miraculously, I got better after joining my high school newspaper as a Staff Writer. As one of my teammates stated, hearing both sides of a story is important, rather than stick to one and base it all on that. I chose to join the Hawk because I want to be part of the effort to restart something, as I said earlier, that we believed never died. I expect that the Hawk will be as good as we want it to be – we may be chilled out, but we will make sure that our stuff gets done.
To those interested in being contributors for the Hawk, please contact Editor Stephen Barber. To those interested in keeping updated with the Hawk, stay tuned and happy reading.
Jason Silverling
I was born in Melbourne, Florida on February 15, 1987. I graduated from Williamsport High School in 2005. I do not have any experience in journalism whatsoever. This is one reason I decided to contribute to the Hawk. I am interested in journalism, not as a career, but as a hobby. I love to write – I always like to hear both sides to any story and I believe that is very important in journalism. Leaning too much to one side gives everyone that reads that piece the wrong impression. I expect to learn how to develop a different style of writing. I have completed Eng 101 and 102 and received much praise from my two instructors. I would really like to help contribute and take my writing career to another level.
