By Molly Lynch – Staff Reporter

Sophomore Advocate Editors Harshitha Kothapalli and Kayla Markowitz had their FOX 61 Student News story on the Milford MOJO Robotics Team selected to be on air.

Their two-minute news story aired on the FOX 61 Morning News on Friday, April 12.

Kothapalli and Markowitz spent a lot of time and hard work on this project, but the result was worth it all. 

“We spent months of filming at robotics meeting, interviewing coaches and leaders, creating a script, and editing all of our film,” Kothapalli said.

It was not an easy process for Kothapalli and Markowitz and they had to figure out how to balance this project out with their everyday schedule.

“Getting interviews and video clips to begin the editing process definitely took a lot of free time from the both of us (which was super hard because neither of us had free time),” Markowitz said. “Juggling this project while also having other classes, activities, and assignments to do was also a challenge because we really had to balance everything and figure out how to get everything done.”

The two of them could not do this project alone and wanted to thank Journalism teacher Mr. Kulenych for all of the help he provided throughout the process. 

“Mr. K. has been our biggest guide through this whole process and having him was our greatest strength,” Kothapalli said. “His passion and interest fueled us and inspired us to be just as excited about this project.”

There was a ton of prep work that Kothapalli and Markowitz had to go through on their way to a finished product. 

“Harshi and I worked pretty much everyday to write the script, record, and edit for months to get the video perfect,” Markowitz said. “It took a lot of hard work but definitely paid off in the end.”

Kulenych’s students participate in the FOX 61 Student News program every year. He thinks it is a great experience for anyone interested in a career in broadcast journalism. 

“We love participating every year in the FOX 61 Student News program because it gives students an authentic broadcast journalism experience,” Kulenych said. “They have to find a newsworthy topic, write a news script, film B-roll and interviews, and then edit their news stories to fit the time FOX 61 time requirements.”

Kulenych said he was proud of the hard work that Kothapalli and Markowitz put into their MOJO Robotics story.

“Kayla and Harshi did an awesome job putting together their news story,” Kulenych said. “They received high praise from the FOX 61 judges for their script and the B-roll and footage they collected really added to the story. Overall, it was a professionally done news story and I am happy and proud for them that their story was chosen to be on the air.”

To watch their news story on YouTube, click here!