Nicole Arduini is the Camp Director at the Rocky Mountain Journalism Camp. She has held this position for 7 years and previously worked as a publication rep at the camp as well. She has recently accepted a job at Regis Jesuit High School as an intro to journalism and graphic design teacher.

Q: “What was your first experience with this camp?”

A: “I actually attended this camp when I was in high school and it was in Colorado Springs. That was my very first experience with the camp. My second interaction with this camp was when I came onto it as a Rep. Ultimately, it’s been a great way for kids to experience student journalism and learn more about it.”

Q: “To what extent has working as a camp director affected your views on journalism?”

A: “It has definitely affected it largely. I’ve always had a passion for student journalism, but I think actually running the camp, and not just attending it, has made me see firsthand the impact it has on the students and what a difference it makes for their year. Their excitement for learning how to be ethical journalists is very contagious. A lot of people ask me, ‘What about fake news?’ and ‘What’s a journalism camp?’ and it really gets under my skin because I know how hard everyone works here and how much effort. But it’s been a great experience to really watch the students grow as young journalists.”

Q: “What is the biggest thing you would like the camp to improve on for next year?”

A: “My ultimate goal is to grow the reach and to have anyone that is interested in the journalism field to be able to go to the camp, not just those who are in student publications. But that’s proven to be a little bit difficult, but that would be nice to do eventually. I think for next year, however, I would like to look into expanding for the newspaper and broadcast journalism strands, because I would like to continue to grow and add more opportunities aside from yearbook.”

Q: “You mentioned to me that you had recently received a job at Regis Jesuit high school teaching graphic design and introductory journalism. Can you tell me a little bit about that?”

A: “I was a yearbook rep for 15 years, and I realized that what I loved most about that job was working with the students and mentoring them through the whole process of creating their publications. I left that career last year to spend a little more time with my son before he entered kindergarten, and the opportunity to teach at Regis just fell into my lap in a funny way. One of my colleagues at the school told me that they were looking for someone to teach graphic design and Intro to Journalism, and I thought “Oh my gosh, this is literally my dream job!” I think it’s going to be so fun to work more directly with students on an everyday basis and to hone their passion for journalism.”