By Valeria Bula

It’s not every day that one may find a high school student that exceeds all odds, allowing them to stand out amongst many and accomplish admirable feats. However, Sabine Joseph is one of these rare cases.

Sabine, 16, is a rising junior at Miami Lakes Educational Center. She is the layout design editor, as well as the first junior to become managing editor of her school’s newspaper, The Harbinger. Sabine is also a staff writer and photographer for her award-winning yearbook, Alpha & Omega.

She is one of 20 young journalists – and the youngest – selected amongst hundreds of talented South Florida applicants to participate in the highly competitive Peace Sullivan/James Ansin High School Workshop in Journalism and New Media – also known as Miami Montage – for the summer of 2017. Sabine is also the 13th student from MLEC selected to participate in Miami Montage since 2008.

For three weeks, participants of the program were introduced to different skills associated with print, broadcast and photographic journalism.

“I first heard about the program when my journalism advisor, Neyda Borges, emailed me the application and I just let it sit in my inbox at first,” said Sabine. “I thought it over and decided that a summer journalism program, especially one on a college campus, was something that I’d really enjoy and that I should take advantage of while I could. I researched several programs, but in the end decided that Montage was the one for me.”

Her passion for journalism and writing drove her to apply for the program and become increasingly hopeful that she could seize the opportunity.

“From the day I applied, I anxiously anticipated the day acceptance would be announced and I said a little prayer that I’d get in every night. When I got the acceptance email I was in journalism class and I was so excited that I couldn’t speak,” added Sabine.

Along with publishing a newspaper, the students also produced videos, photos and blogs that were posted on the workshop’s website.

“Montage helped me build upon things I had learned in the classroom like interview skills, article writing, and photography,” said Sabine after completing the program. “It also taught me new things, specifically video editing, which, despite being time-consuming and somewhat difficult at first, was fun because it was a skill I wanted to pick up for a while. I also got to work in teams with students from all over South Florida and even out of state who were all so talented and taught me so much.”

During the three weeks of the program, the students lived on campus and were supervised by adult counselors, giving them a glimpse of what university life is like and what to expect. They attended classes in the School of Communication and used the labs in the school to produce the newspaper and their videos, allowing them access to some of the most advanced cameras and computers to complete their projects.

Sabine took on the challenge of writing a story on how communities are using social media to promote their culture. She also interviewed notable figures from the Little Haiti Cultural Center and the History Miami Museum, having her article then published University of Miami’s print publication, Montage.

“Each year students bring back new skills and enthusiasm for their craft when they return to The Harbinger,” said Neyda Borges, MLEC’s journalism advisor. “I am very proud of Sabine and am excited to hear about her work at UM and to hear her ideas for this year’s publications.”

Sabine added, “I recommend Montage to any high school student who loves journalism and wants to learn more about it and I hope that more Harbinger staffers joining the Montage family for years to come.”

The indispensable knowledge Sabine acquired from Montage is one she hopes to carry on for years, whether she pursues a career in journalism, or her dream career: to become a writer.