By Polina Naumova

Three hours to Lansing and back, and not just for the food.

Journalism and yearbook students went to the MIPA (Michigan Interscholastic Press Association) journalism conference in Lansing to learn how to improve the Loy Norrix publication, Knight Life.

The award winning newspaper, Knight Life, received praise from the critics.

“Our critic said that we did an incredible job with the variety of stories we had, that our paper had a very professional format to it, and our cutouts were great, ” said Rachael Koole of Knight Life.

Critiques were not the only thing that the students received. Many workshops offered suggestions on how to improve skills in writing, photography, and online publishing.  The online aspect was new to the conference; it gave students tips on how to increase their viewer turnout and make online publications more interesting.

Many introductory journalism students received useful information that will provide them with better writing skills for their future contributions to Knight Life.

Yearbook students from the journalism class went to sessions that showed how to improve the LN yearbook by learning how to make pictures look more interesting.  These students focused on increasing their readership.

The time at Lansing was, sadly, cut short due to parent teacher conferences and bus schedules. However the students did get to spend lunch at the downtown capital, enjoying the view and a variety of restaurants.

Loy Norrix was one among many Michigan schools that attended the conference, providing a real crowd at the Lansing Center.

“I really enjoyed going to the conference because I was able to meet peers participating in the same type of publishing activity,” said Lucas Leibold, Knight Life member.

With the view, the learning experience, and interaction with students who share the same interests in publishing, the time at Lansing is considered nothing short of a success.