Portage High School Journalism Says Goodbye to Inspiring Seniors

Portage High School Journalism Says Goodbye to Inspiring Seniors

This year, seniors Lydia Gerike and Matt Rasnic will be graduating and continuing their education at Indiana University in the fall. For the past three years, Rasnic and Gerike have been on publications staff at Portage High School. This year, Gerike serves as the Editor ­in­ Chief for the student newspaper, the Pow Wow, and Rasnic is the Photography Editor for the Pow Wow and the yearbook, The Legend.

In March, Gerike was named Indiana High School Press Association Student of the Year and Rasnic was named Indiana High School Press Association Best Sports Photographer of the Year. While both of these students excel in the area of journalism, neither of them ever imagined going into journalism.

“I got into the journalism class by accident,” said Gerike. “There was actually a schedule mix­up, I wanted to be in a theatre class and I went to the guidance office and tried to get into Dramatic Literature, or something theatre, but I ended up in Journalism anyways.”

Rasnic did not enroll in the Journalism class like Gerike, but as a sophomore, Kiley Jones, a friend of Rasnic, asked him to talk to the Portage High School Publications Advisor, Melissa Deavers­-Lowie, about joining the Legend Staff.

“When I first started on Legend, I was a staff designer, but as I kept going I started to like photography.” said Rasnic.

These past three years, these students have been on publications staff, with Gerike becoming Editor ­in­ Chief her junior year, and Rasnic his senior year.

“I think the best part of being an editor is getting to see your work and your staff’s work and feel really appreciated,” said Gerike. “It is really nice to see everything that you have worked so hard for printed.”

While learning how to be journalists, they both have inspired other Portage High School students to become involved in journalism.

Junior Lexy Young believes that they both have influenced her to be the best journalist she can be.

“I am so lucky to be on a staff with Matt and Lydia,” said Young. “Lydia is a strong writer and Matt is a strong photographer, I learn so much from both of them every day and they have inspired me to want to write the best stories and take the best photos that I can.”

After covering Portage and Portage High School events for three years, they are both getting ready to transition out of high school and into college journalism.

“I do not even know what it is going to be like to not cover Portage High School,” said Gerike. “I have been so lucky to create relationships with so many teachers, administrators and even people in the community, like the Mayor. I’ve been very lucky and it is going to be weird not covering Portage.”

Although Rasnic is undecided as to what he will study at Indiana University in the fall, Gerike will be studying Journalism and International Relations in order to pursue a career in journalism in the future.