The School of The New York Times

By DALTON HANNA | Contributing Writer

It was in 5th grade when my sister came home from school with brochures spilling out of her hands for summer programs. While all were pretty enticing, one packet’s familiar newspaper logo font instantly caught my eye and drew me in. From that moment on, I became dedicated and determined to attend the School of The New York Times, a two-week immersive student journalism program in the city led by the prestigious publication.

Many setbacks would wreck my plans before I could finally attend this past June. Waiting simply to meet the age requirements (sophomore in high school) and then, of course, the pandemic leading to the closure of the in-person school were the two main factors I was fighting. However, after a lengthy application, I was at last accepted and ready to attend SoNYT in person.

My program, Writing in the Big City: Reporting in New York, ran for two weeks, from June 19th to July 1st. This was just one of the multitude of programs they offered, and many of the friends I made were attending other classes such as Opinion Writing, Photojournalism and Creative Writing.

On campus, which was the Fordham Graduate School buildings near Lincoln Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, I was surrounded by genius writers that truly are the future of this profession. There is nothing more inspiring to me than being around other students who share my passion and spark for writing and reporting, which led to lively classes and quick, tight bonds among the SoNYT attendees.

Class would run from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday, featuring lessons on writing and structure, speakers from The New York Times and the professional journalism world, and hands-on reporting on the streets of the city for the two articles we wrote.

Each of these articles had a different overarching focus, but every individual student had to find their own angle. The first was about the gentrification of Brooklyn, specifically the Prospect Heights neighborhood, and I wrote about the effect this might have on retail and business in the area. The second week’s topic was 9/11, and my class visited the 9/11 museum and memorial; my specific article was about the artistic impact of 9/11 surrounding the memorial.

Not only did we have to write the article, we also had to provide the supporting photography, which is what led me to that street mural. Receiving feedback from my teacher, Curtis Stephen, for each story cycle proved extremely valuable, and his edits on my articles were the element of this learning experience that I was most grateful for.

Outside of class, a component of SoNYT that I fully appreciated was the freedom given to students to explore the city. While events were offered, free of charge, outside of the classroom to help students get to know New York, students were also encouraged to “check out” with friends for up to four hours at a time and use their unlimited Metrocards provided by SoNYT to take on the boroughs.

I took advantage of both of these opportunities. My scheduled Metropolitan Museum of Art trip on a sunny Saturday morning was one of my favorite moments at the program outside of class. We traveled together to this iconic museum, but once inside, we were allowed to split up with friends and tackle whichever exhibits were most important to us.

However, little could surpass the effortlessness of being able to go out with your friends each day until as late as 10:00 with no set plan and a whole city to explore. Allowing both of these options for students was the perfect structure to ensure that everyone was gaining a cultural experience of New York in their own unique way.

All of sudden, I blinked, and the two weeks I’d looked forward to for years were over. I made friendships that will hopefully endure beyond SoNYT, but it’s the skills learned and the hands-on experience gained in the art of journalism that will most definitely last a lifetime.