Students from high schools in the Moorpark College region visited the Student Voice newsroom on Thursday to learn about journalism and to see how a news gathering organization works.

“I think Career Day helps students with a career and helps them make up their mind,” said Karla Suarez, 18-year-old Royal High School student. “I’ve already decided on a career in nursing.”

The students were part of the High School Career Technical Education Day at the college. About 200 high school students participated. As part of the event, students visited college programs, including journalism, engineering and film television, for insights into potential careers.

The event started with a keynote speaker and included lunch in the college’s quad.

At the newsroom, the students met with editors and participated in a news gathering operation. The students helped prepare a newsletter, an online story and a video presentation.

“We wanted to make this as interactive as possible,” said Student Voice adviser professor Michael Hoffman. “And we wanted to make sure that everyone had their questions answered.”

Students came to the event with a variety of interests and questions.

Although unsure of what she wants to study, Leah Umana, a sophomore at Newbury Park High School, appreciates events such as Career Day because it is an opportunity for her to explore her career interests.

“I think it’s really nice to have this event so that students can experience different fields of jobs,” said Umana.

Eder Ruiz, 16, is extremely excited to be attending Moorpark College in the next couple years. Career Day was a great pathway to help him figure out his future.

“I was really interested in coming to check out the pathways and opportunities that I will have when I graduate and come here to Moorpark,” said Ruiz.

Belle Sharrar, a sophomore at Newbury Park High School, is excited to come to Moorpark College and learn something new.

“I think it’s really cool to come here and learn what the class is all about and see what you can possibly do in the future,” said Sharrar.

Figuring out what your ideal career is can be difficult, which is why Moorpark College offers High School Career Technical Education. By educating high school students on what our community college has to offer, they can be better prepared for their future. Having interests in journalism and graphic design, 17-year-old CJ Schnider from Santa Susana High School reacts to the Student Voice newsroom.

“I like the way it is separated into different groups,” said Schnider. “I think that would work pretty well.”

Journalism is the process of gathering accurate facts from multiple sources, such as interviews and research, Hoffman said. Journalists then distill the information. In the final step, they present the information, either online, in print, on radio or broadcast, he said.

“The key steps are gather, distill, present,” Hoffman said.