By Sofia Rudus ’26
Before Thanksgiving break on Nov. 26, Jessika Harkay, a journalist from the CT Mirror, came to the journalism class at DHS to share about her work and life as a reporter. The class was very engaged and learned a lot of valuable information from Harkay. Harkay and other students were able to share their experience about the visit.
Harkay is an educational reporter from the CT Mirror. She covers topics like the “K-12 achievement gap, education funding, curriculum, mental health, school safety, inequity and other education topics” (CT Mirror). Before her visit, the journalism class read one of her articles, “This Hartford Public High School grad can’t read. Here’s how it happened” about a student that was given improper educational assistance and teaching. By reading this article, the class was able to become more familiar with her work and could ask specific questions about that article.
The visit was very informative and laid back due to Harkay’s inviting energy. It was less like a lecture and simply an open conversation. This created a more relaxed presence for students to be comfortable asking questions. The class learned about topics like Harkay’s personal timeline with journalism and how she was inspired to become a journalist, as well as the many changes she has encountered throughout building her career. Harkay describes how she recalls how interesting it was when newspapers came to her school when she was younger, so she understands how exciting it can be having a reporter come to your school. She hopes to not be this intimidating reporter, because she is just like us “I am always happy to be a resource and I know I have done this a little longer now, that I can give some insight and help younger reporters answer some questions that I wish someone would answer for me when I was younger.” Harkay also says how much she likes speaking to young people more than adults because of their willingness to learn.
Allison Ortega-Benites ‘26 and Sara Poric ‘26 were interviewed as well to share their experience while participating and listening to the conversation. They both described Harkay’s visit as being very interesting and taught them valuable information about the profession. “It opened my eyes to the reality of journalism,” Poric says, “ like how work heavy it is but also the freedom you kind of get.” Poric enjoyed the discussion thoroughly and commented on Harkay’s body language which made the conversation flow more naturally. Ortega Benites also commented on the easiness of the conversation. “I really liked her, she had a good vibe, like her energy was good,” Ortega-Benites said.
The journalism teachers contacted Harkay and set up this visit back in September, so it has been an activity the class has been looking forward to. Harkay described how she prepared for the visit by not preparing at all, “it goes into that genuine factor that if you are prepared and people see that you are reading off note cards, they can tell it’s not real.” By knowing who she is and being confident in her work, she does not have to rely on something to go off on.
Overall, the visit was informative and engaging. Everyone shared the same reaction of enjoyment and interest for a second visit from Harkay. The students and teachers took a lot from this experience and look forward to more in the future.
The Raider Press 