By Elena Osmanllari
Dragon Echo Staff
Courtney Roberts and Cody Gill, along with a dedicated staff of writers and photographers, are bringing The Dragon Echo back to NHS.
The Dragon Echo was the high school newspaper for decades, but it has not been published for the past few years.
The Echo is now returning online, with the possibility of a print edition at some point in the future.
Courtney said the reason she was interested in bringing back a school newspaper was because she wanted the opportunity to tell in-depth stories about the student body.
“There are race issues, identity issues and other things we want to pick people’s minds about,” she said. “We want to look deeper than the surface. We want to know our students as people: their thoughts and feelings.”
Cody said he wants to inform people about the many things going on at school.
“We want them to know about games, club meetings, teacher of the month, student of the month, and all those things,” he said.
Being able to publish stories daily, online, is the modern, advanced method of newswriting, Cody said.
“You can read it on your phone or on the computer, and it’s convenient,” he said.
Cody built the newspaper website, and he has spent the past month working on the formatting.
Both Courtney and Cody love photography and have businesses outside of school taking and selling photos.
“I never saw myself doing this,” Courtney said. “I thought yearbook people were boring. But last year’s instructor saw some of the photos I took with my phone and handed me a camera.”
The rest is history.
Courtney discovered a love for photography and a passion for collecting memories – even though she acknowledges it is hard and time-consuming work.
“I want to capture emotions in pictures,” she said. “I want to tell the story.”
Cody said his passion developed in much the same way. He started with photography on his phone. One of his first pictures featured a plant.
Cody and Courtney said people enjoy their photographs, and they receive positive feedback. But they don’t think most people realize how much time and effort goes into what they do.
“Honestly, I stress sometimes because I have clients outside of school along with this,” Courtney said. “I have to go through all the photos, pick my favorites, and edit them. It can be overwhelming, but it’s worth it. Taking pictures is one of my favorite things. It brings me happiness.”
Cody said his work with the yearbook is preparing him for his future career as a photographer.
Although Courtney said she doesn’t want to be a professional photographer in the future she has great respect for them. She attended a journalism conference in Washington, D.C. over the summer and listened to a speaker who is a photographer for National Geographic.
“Her photography makes people cry,” Courtney said. “She has so much passion in her work.”
Both Cody and Courtney said that reactions from people make it worth all the time and energy that goes into their work.
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