“Yeah, I was in newspaper in High School – it was fun. I think you’ll really like it,” my mom said to me as I was picking out classes for my senior year.

I never thought that I would do anything other than write stories for the school newspaper in order to add to my background of writing experience, because of my chosen future field of study. Despite my love of English, I took this class to a whole new level when I was hit by writer’s block.

You may have seen the Friday Flash this year airing during SSR time or even in your own free time. I first saw it at the beginning of my freshman year of high school during lunch, and even though it may have just been the fact that the upperclassmen seemed so cool, I knew that I wanted that 2013 legacy to continue on.

Four episodes in, Riley Snyder, Dustin Hagemann, Logan Essy, Jake Hutzell, Madi Bertman, Darold Baker and Hayley Willems decided to cancel the broadcast. Three years went by and the Friday Flash was never mentioned, until I decided that with the help of my News Journalism peers, I was going to be the one to bring it back.

Videotaping, editing in iMovie, interviewing on the spot and keeping track of others deadlines became the new normal for me and I haven’t looked back since. My once empty computer desktop soon filled up with ideas, stories, requests and media. The Friday Flash was alive again, and the students of ADM High were laughing like they once had at the goofy rendition of a monthly News segment.

Seven months and seven Friday Flashes later, my time has come to a close. Hopefully, the Flash will stay alive and change someone else’s life the way it has mine. I highly recommend taking dual enrollment classes, such as this one because it can build technical skills and GPAs. (Currently, I’m graduating with 34 college credits and have made the Dean’s list at DMACC).

So, my request for those future News Journalism students that will sit down at my computer next year is that they take the time to use the Friday Flash to get to know their peers and their own sense of self.