PUEBLO — The goal of the student stress story put together by News 5 and Pueblo South High students Elise Maestas and Libbie Eborn was to bring light to an issue that teens face every day. News 5 anchor and reporter Andy Koen contacted broadcasting teacher Chad Williams in December to discuss goals the National News Literacy Project.
"The only guidelines were to pick a topic that is an issue relevant to your community," Koen explained. "So, that's pretty broad."
He met with Maestas and Eborn in Williams' class once a week for three weeks in January to develop the story idea, record interviews and video, and finally to write and edit the story titled 'More sleep and asking for help can help students with stress'.
"It's been a really great opportunity, I've enjoyed it seeing how the professionals work, and yeah, just seeing how they do it and learning a lot for the future," Maestas said.
During the editorial meeting, several ideas were discussed. The group chose the topic of student stress because it's an issue that young people struggle with and can relate to.
"Me and Libbie really wanted to choose a story that had relevance to us and to our classmates," Maestas said.
"This is something that everybody deals with," Koen added. "Maybe we can do some good with a story and give everybody (the example), hey here's how these students coping with all the pressures they're under."
Williams, the teacher, said he supported the students in their decision.
"It's something that sometimes parents don't know how stress is impacting their child," Williams said. "So, I thought it was good for them to pursue and look into this."
Maestas, Eborn and Williams all said they appreciated the educational experience.
Libbie Eborn is a Sophomore at Pueblo South High School and is enrolled in the broadcast program. She filed this report as part of partnership with News 5 for National News Literacy Week.
