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Van Wicklen named Journalism Academy's MVP
06/17/08
Author:
Joe Dennis
Contact: Joe Dennis, jodennis@uga.edu
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Cedar Shoals High School rising senior Justin Van Wicklen of Athens was named the "MVP" of the 2008 Georgia Journalism Academy, hosted by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.Van Wicklen was one of 73 participants of the Academy ? a weeklong camp for high school journalists. Students live in a campus residence hall during the week and take classes at the Grady College in one of seven core areas: broadcast writing and reporting, broadcast news production, news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, photojournalism and graphic design. This year's camp, held June 8-14, had the theme of "Friday Night Lights." 
An image from a Graphic Design class.
Van Wicklen was a member of the broadcast production team that produced a 20-minute TV news show ? "The Grady Gridiron." With the assistance of broadcast instructors, the show was put together by the Academy's broadcast students. Van Wicklen was named the "All-Star" of his class by his instructor, Vanessa Nguyen, and competed against other class "All-Stars" for the title of "MVP."
"Justin was a great team player who was willing to do anything," said Nguyen. "He is a multi-talented student who not only produced great work, but motivated other students to do their best."
An image from a Broadcast News class.
Van Wicklen, who also has an interest in sculpting, said he enjoys the creative aspect of broadcast production. "I'm a very hands-on kind of person," he said. "I like to create things, and I like to show people what's going on in the world, so broadcast news is a natural fit."
Van Wicklen, who hopes to attend the University of Georgia and the Grady College, said his Academy experience has helped further develop skills he learned under his high school adviser at Cedar Shoals. "I've gotten a new perspective on editing and I've learned some tremendous technique," he said. "This has been a wonderful experience."
Justin Van Wicklen in his broadcast class
The Academy "All Stars" were recognized at a closing banquet held in the UGA Sanford Stadium Sky Suite. Along with Van Wicklen, the following students were named "All Stars" in their respective classes:
- Logan Butler (Stratford Academy/Macon), broadcast writing and reporting
- Margaret Chwat (Northview HS/Suwanee), editorial writing
- Meredith Fowler (Camden County HS/Kingsland), graphic design
- Macy Lister (Union Grove HS/McDonough), photojournalism
- Mary Lyons (Northside HS/Columbus), news writing
- Ayana Moore (Dunwoody HS/Lithonia), feature writing
As broadcast students produced "The Grady Gridiron," newspaper students were working on "The Goal Post," a 12-page newspaper featuring local news, features, sports and opinions.
The Georgia Journalism Academy is held every year in June. Instructors include Grady College faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni. Students are supervised in the dorms by current UGA students and eat meals in a dining hall. Entertainment activities on campus are planned each night for the students.
2008 Academy group shot
Established in 1915, UGA's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers seven undergraduate majors including advertising, broadcast news, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and telecommunication arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu.
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