By Ikeya Lake and Abriana Walton Cass Tech Staff Writers
Courtnee James got an early start in the journalism field thanks to the High School Journalism Program.
“During my freshman year I became interested in the CT Visionary newspaper staff, under the direction of Pamela English,” said James, who graduated from Cass Tech in 2009. “I joined the staff and wrote throughout my time at Cass.”
James worked her way up to co-editor of the CT Visionary by the time she was a senior, and she was also on the yearbook staff.
“Working on the yearbook and newspaper helped expand my creativity beyond words.” said James, who also worked as a Detroit Free Press summer apprentice in 2008 and 2009.
After graduating from CT, she went to the University of Michigan on a full tuition scholarship. Studying communications, she learned the science behind the media such as the effects of the media on body image. Even though Michigan does not offer a major in journalism, she gained skills that lead her to her current career in journalism.
James began her professional journalism career in broadcasting, but after a couple of years discovered that she wanted a job that was more creative because she enjoyed writing.
“I worked as a sales assistant for a little over a year, but I wasn’t being challenged creatively,” she said. “I was able to submit some of my work, including articles from the FreepHigh program, to land a position writing for Jacksonville Magazine as an editorial assistant in January of this year.”
James offers this advice to young writers: “Hone your craft. Develop a voice and be consistent. And most importantly, be thorough in your writing.”
