Teen Journalism in Brunswick County has grown tremendously with the help of Cape Fear Voices/Teen Scene and the people who are behind the scenes. Journalism and news productions is not just about writing a story or telling one; it’s also about how we put it together and publish our productions. At Brunswick County Early College High School (BECHS), there are two very important people who help make The Teen Scene section of the Cape Fear Voices newspaper possible every month for publications and public readers. 

Emmy Russ and Kyler Terry are both sophomores and joined journalism because they wanted to grow their skills and try something new. Terry stated that he would like to go into the journalism field and hope to study journalism at Chapel Hill. Russ’s initial thought of journalism was a small club where she could publish anything she liked, but never realized all the opportunities that were within journalism. Terry said, “I have learned that the journalism club is not strictly writing. Journalism club is also learning how to graphic design, podcast, effectively communicate with others, and so much more”.  

Russ and Terry are both very active writers in journalism, but when they are not writing, they are working their magic to help lay out The Teen Scene pages. They work together to help gather articles to be published every month while using graphic designs, templates, etc., to make our newspaper look sharp every month. With so much of Terry and Russ’s involvement, they have been both invited to join the first Quill and Scroll in Brunswick County at BECHS. Quill and Scroll is a prestigious honor society for Journalists and currently, only seven people qualify for this opportunity. 

Russ’s hope for journalism at Early College is to have their own paper and publication. Journalism. Russ stated, “I think it would be amazing for our club to be able to give our student body a place to publish their work and make their voices heard.” Terry agrees and hopes for BECHS to have not only their own publications but also to get involved with more schools within journalism. Kyler stated that workshops “allow students to work 

together with other journalism students from other schools.” He also mentioned that a podcast is something that many students envision and are working on getting it started in the future. Recently, Laura Askue announced something very exciting happening with podcasting, so stay tuned in the upcoming announcement. 

Journalism has helped Russ and Terry build friendships, skills, new goals, and opportunities that they never thought were possible. They continue to be a part of journalism because of their love for writing, the opportunities given, and the great learning experiences that come with it. Cape Fear Voices and Teen Scene are so thrilled to have special young people like Terry and Russ on their team. It doesn’t happen every day to see such hardworking and determined journalists like these two. They really help to put together The Teen Scene every month and what is even more special about the newspaper is teens put it together. Students from all over Brunswick County are writing and with the help of Terry and Russ, they are physically creating a history of writing here in our county. 

Russ and Terry both hope to help continue playing a huge role in journalism while helping journalism grow. They both hope the skills and opportunities that they experience help them in their career field of Journalist for Terry and Astrophysicist for Russ. With both Russ’s and Terry’s passion and bright future ahead of them, they sure are becoming the Upcoming Superstars. Cape Fear Voices and Teen Scenes, as well as the journalism club at BECHS, are very proud of Russ’s and Terry’s work for the team. We hope everything they do now and in the future helps them through their journey.