Lisa Harvey: ’81

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Paste ups in Shelbyville.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

The meaning of responsible journalism and integrity in reporting from Ms. Schenck.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I wrote a story on the upcoming busing in of students.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

So many memories, some of my best from high school!

Karen (Bostic) Royalty: ’82

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

The people!

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Accountability

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

What we produced in the end.

Paul Hurley: ’82

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Taking photos of all the school activities, especially sports.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Learning to work as a team in a non-traditional classroom setting. When the actual physical paper came out, there was a great sense of accomplishment. I have several friends from the staff I am still in contact with.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

The long tradition of The Journal and it’s history are an incredible achievement. I was glad to be a part of it.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

While photography is not my primary occupation, the fundamentals I learned while at Southport have stayed with me a lifetime. I’ve stayed active in editorial photography for many years. I was a photo stringer for UPI and Reuters in the 1990’s, primarily covering sports. I’ve shot over 30 Indianapolis 500’s as a credentialed photographer. Congrats to the SHS Journal!

Jennifer (Fields) Oskins: ’82

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Spending time with my classmates after school all while working on the next issue of The Journal. Going downtown to work on typesetting and design is also a great memory.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Time management, making deadlines and highlighting all of the student body and seeing their reaction on Friday.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

It was very rewarding, memories that I cherish always.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Congratulations to all who served The Journal. 100 years is quite the accomplishment and serves as judgement of how great it was and still is today.

Kris (Muller) Ritter: ’84

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Ah, the camaraderie! Loading everyone up in my family van and heading downtown to “Alexander Typesetting” to “paste up” the latest edition. Those late nights were sometimes stressful, but when the paper was delivered on Friday, it was so exciting to see our hard work come to fruition.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

To this day, I will still use the editing symbols I learned when I proofread documents.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

1) Scooping the local/Southside newspaper with the announcement of hiring Coach Ken Haupt as the head football coach.

2) Covering the amateur athletic Sullivan Awards and interviewing top amateur athletes including Edwin Moses and Greg Louganis.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I wouldn’t trade my time on The Journal for any other experience. I still hold the values and work ethic instilled in me during my tenure today.

Lorie (Bowman) Morris: ’84

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Paste-Ups: I loved seeing it all come together!

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

It helped me to learn to work within a group, instead of just on my own. This skilled has really helped in my professional life.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I did a piece on a female C.E. O. of a large company. I really enjoyed that piece, and the impact it could have had on girls. I am now a SVP of a large company. I think back on that interview at times. I never thought I could, until then.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Lots of fun! It gave me a community to belong to.

Kim Nohlechek (Hudson): ’84

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

My favorite memory was paste ups. It was sometimes a lot of problem solving to make articles fit. However, it was always fun working with the other staff members to piece the paper together.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Being on The Journal staff taught me to work hard and take pride in anything I do. I enjoyed the sense of accomplishment, every time we published a new issue.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I wrote an article about the school restrooms. It was titled “Wrong Mom.” It was about the condition of the restrooms. The lack of warm water, soap or paper towels. After the article came out, the school made improvements to the restrooms due to responses from my article.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Congratulations to all who have been a part of The Journal’s history! I am grateful for my “Journal” days!

Barb Lawson: ’85

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

We had to typeset the paper by hand. Those after school trips downtown to the print shop were a lot of work but also so much fun!

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

There were far too many things to include inside of 50 words!?

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

For 1985 commencement, changes were announced that students did not embrace. The assistant editor, Toni Campbell and I wrote and published editorials to try to persuade administrators to reverse the changes. We also met with the administrators and ultimately were successful in finding a solution that was acceptable for both sides.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Working on The Journal was an amazing experience and truly a highlight of my high school years!

Kimberely Scott: ’85

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

I have found memories of working along my classmates at Alexander Typesetting to send The Journal to press.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

The Journal provided me with a wonderful opportunity to explore my ability to write in a creative space. I look back on the friendships many of which I hold more than 30 years later with fondness.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I am proud of my contributions along with other members of The Journal staff in publishing The Journal. The news coverage provided was pertinent for its time.

Mike Dodds: ’85

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

The friends I made while working on the paper.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

It started my lifelong love of photography.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

We started taking candid shots of students answering poll questions.

Noel Chessman: ’85

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

I enjoyed the freedom from a conventional class setting. I enjoyed the camaraderie and creativity.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

It helped me to write in a more succinct, disciplined style- which has paid untold dividends over the years.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I enjoyed the overall experience more than any specific project. I appreciated the creative, kinetic environment.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Proud to be a very small part of a very storied tradition! What a great foundation for the next 100 years to build upon!

John R Weliever II: ’86

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

I always loved going to paste ups and developing film in the Dark Room that was located in the library.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

I enjoy taking pictures and also enjoy watching and reading good journalism!

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I like seeing pictures that I took and stories I wrote being published.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I am glad that The Journal is still being printed after 100 years and teaching students the importance of good journalism.

Scott Wiseman: ’86

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

The staff. The experience. Our adviser. It was really neat to see one’s work in print and to capture moments that will live on forever.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

I have several friends that I consider lifelong friends that worked on The Journal with me. We may not see each other often enough, but we still talk often.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

It made me happy to see people’s responses to our articles and pictures. It also allowed me to explore my artistic side.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Congratulations SHS Journal on 100 years!! Here is to many more!! (Scott Wiseman 1986 Grad and Chief Photographer).

Laura Moorhead: ’87

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

The memories blur, but the people do not. Mrs. Jungemann was an inspiring teacher, who truly treated students with respect and empowered them to make significant editorial decisions. Student publications — and I include The Anchor in this — helped me make sense of my education. Frankly, I vaguely recall my classes, but I do remember student publications. The Journal and Anchor felt important, and it affected the school and students. All my favorite memories stem from working collaboratively on stories and closing pages. I have a note from a fellow high school staffer framed in my office as a reminder of what’s important in life. It was from The Anchor, but it could have been from The Journal. We were all in it together.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Student publications at Southport (again, I’m including The Anchor) helped me find my passion, which fortunately mapped onto what’s been a long, inspiring career. Journalism in high school put me on a trajectory that’s still moving forward. I majored in Journalism at Ball State, then moved to San Francisco and worked for two decades as a journalist. I returned to school for a master’s and then PhD at Stanford University. Now, I work as a professor who teaches and researches journalism. I even advise student publications at San Francisco State University. As Walter Conkrite said, “Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.” It keeps people accountable and can give voice to people who can be marginalized and overlooked. The Journal helped me see journalism as a crucial part of a healthy and — hopefully, one day — equitable society.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I’m most proud of the journalistic and editorial integrity of the student publications. High school journalism can be tough; Publications are part of a school, and administrators and community members can see them as a form of PR or marketing. Censorship and editorial control can be real issues. I felt as though the student publications could do serious stories, stories that mattered. There was a great deal of thought given to storytelling, both the words and images. How should student suicides be handled? What about the spelling and abbreviation of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) circa 1985? What students and voices were being left out of coverage and why? We asked and thought about questions, both big and small, that really mattered.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I’d love to hear more about what The Journal is doing and how it has evolved over the past century.

Jennifer (Hampton) Cochran: ’90

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

My favorite memory was late night “paste ups.” We didn’t have computers. We hand wrote our articles and then went to a local southside paper to use their computers. We would type our articles there, print them out, and then use Exacto knives to cut them out and paste them onto a board. (If you look at our old articles, some parts appear slightly crooked.) Sometimes, we would be there well past 11 pm on a school night. But we really got to know one another well and had fun!

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

I learned how to work with others, how to meet a deadline, and I really improved my creative writing skills.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I was the Features editor and had so much fun coming up with creative ideas to write about. My favorite story was when the Editor-in-Chief and I went to visit a psychic and wrote an article about her readings of us. I was very skeptical, but I still have my notes from that day and several of the things she said would happen in my life later are true!

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

A great memory is when we went to the 1990 final four in boy’s basketball. Our staff had a blast covering all of the games leading up to it and printing out window signs for everyone’s cars. I am really proud of my work on The Journal and still have every single paper saved in a box in my basement.

Brett Cocherell: ’93

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

National AAU sports symposium, 1993.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

Importance of deadlines and how to express my ideas/opinions concisely.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

The cooperation of many different students coming together to produce a product we could be proud of.

Amanda Guyer Craig: ’93

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

Our trip to Washington D.C. and exploring the city.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

No bumping headlines!

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

Being on The Journal staff helped me discover my love of writing. It also taught me about integrity and honesty, even when difficult.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Congratulations on 100 years! Best wishes for 100 more!

Heather Buckler: ’94

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

All the different stories and topics we covered.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

The friendships made and the respect I gained for those in the field.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

The wide variety of topics we covered that helped the students in their day to day life.

Nikki Sutton: ’96

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

I loved the dark room – The air: thick with a vinegary smell. The sound: my thoughts and the squeaks of rubber tipped tongs against bath basins. The feeling: anticipation. Expose. Develop. Stop. Rinse. Hang. That red-lit room was a sanctuary. I feel lucky to have clocked so many hours doing something that has nearly obsolete.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

I was not an athlete, I didn’t sport. The Journal was my team. As a reporter and a photographer, I learned to see my work through eyes other than my own and (hopefully) started to hone my ability to accept criticism as a means to improve my craft and my character.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

My senior year I was tasked with taking a portrait of a very shy kid in my class. Everyone remarked at how at ease (and handsome) he looked. I hope he saw those characteristics in that image as well.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

Ruth Mercer continues to be a voice I hear in my head. She and Ms. Stumpf were two of the most encouraging (not coddling) women with whom I had the pleasure to learn. In hindsight, now that I see teachers as real people, they just might have been two of the biggest bada$$e$ at SHS. Shout-out to Mrs. Mercer and Ms. Stumpf- lovers of the written word!

Nick Bowles: ’97

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

The Journal sent me (along with my ace photographer) on an assignment to New Orleans to capture the spirit and revelry of the annual Mardi Gras celebration. We brought back a lively feature story, some beads, and so many great memories.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

The Journal supplied me an opportunity to lead people and take ownership of a new responsibility. The lessons learned gave me the confidence and capabilities to do more as I transitioned into college.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

I am proud of the “real world” experience that The Journal gives to each participant.

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I am very appreciative of the time, dedication, and wisdom provided by Mrs. Ruth Mercer, former SHS teacher and newspaper adviser.

Casey Rhyne: ’99

What’s your favorite memory from being on The Journal?

I remember interviewing classmates for a Valentine’s Day column in February ’96 or ’97. Seemed like everyone wanted to get quoted in The Journal on National Love Day.

What was the impact The Journal had on you?

I really enjoyed the creative, hard working students that worked on The Journal and seeing their ideas come to life.

What are you the most proud of from being on The Journal?

Looking back now, I get why the Valentine’s Day issue was the most memorable and popular. As a member of the class of ’99, we were just a few years shy of the Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat phenomenon but the need to post our thoughts, ideas, flirts and jokes was already there. To get quoted in The Journal was as close to tweeting about love on February 14th as my fellow SHS classmates of 96-’99 could get. ? If only I could of seen the need and put the pieces together to invent Facebook! I’d be so much more wealthy now!

Anything else you would like to add about your experience?

I’m thankful for the experience and memories made working on The Journal 20+ years ago. I bet the teachers, and creative students behind The Journal just keep getting better and better every year!