March 11, 2020
Today, students who write for The Beacon start by taking an Introduction to Journalism class and later get more involved through the Print and Digital Journalism course. Before these classes existed, however, students joined a Beacon Club and often worked after school.
These dedicated students have kept The Beacon going for nearly 100 years, leaving plenty of time for editors and reporters to come and go.
Although not all members of The Beacon staff continue on to a career in journalism, most have found that the skills they gained while working on the publication have come in handy in their chosen fields.
Some more noteworthy Beacon alumi include Kim Jones, reporter for the NFL Network; Randy Parker, Editor of The York Daily Record; and even 2017 grad Ben Ferree who is currently writing for the Penn State Collegian.
A few of staff members provided their opinions about the time they spent with The Beacon.
“I loved working on The Beacon. Because of it, I had so much experience already under my belt when I began writing for my university’s student-run paper. It was really rewarding to work on and publish issues together as a staff. My favorite part was probably mastering the software (we used Quark) to layout the paper, back when it was a hard copy publication!”
Katie Speace Falcone (Class of 2007)
“I knew early on in high school that I loved writing but wasn’t sure how I wanted that to translate into a career. I loved being an editor with The Beacon and my favorite part of that was seeing it come to life when it went to print. At Penn State, I took my experience with The Beacon and the yearbook to pursue a major in Public Relations and a certificate in Sports Journalism. To this day, my writing skills are put to use in my career.”
Mary Hess (Class of 2013)
“The Beacon, for me, has been a place where I can not only improve my wtiting abilities for college, but also a way for me to get my voice heard and share my opinions about a wide variety of topics with people who might not normally listen.”
Josh Thaler (Class of 2020)
“One of the most exciting things about Beacon is that you are documenting history. By writing for the Beacon, you are leaving your mark on the school as years later people will go back and read articles that YOU wrote.”
Lexie Fisher (Class of 2019)
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