Cherubs spent their Sunday afternoons clubbing with fellow students in Fisk Hall classrooms and a Northwestern broadcast studio.
The venues hosted three skills clubs: personal narrative, broadcast or photography.
In narrative, they were guided by writing prompts and edited in real-time by instructors Karen Springen, Mary Lou Song, Erin Ailworth and Joe Grimm.
“People really connect with the first person stories,” Springen said. “They can use all our prompts for the start of a great college essay, those New York Times little love stories, or they could be published as is.”
Cherub Lila Goldin, of Jupiter, Florida, said she enjoyed personal narrative because, “we really get little glimpses into people.”
In broadcast club, cherubs got behind the desk in the McCormick Foundation Center’s studio, supervised by instructor Carlin McCarthy.
“It’s important because it helps students who have never had exposure to broadcast have a chance to experience that medium,” she said.
Jason Wang, of Shanghai and Toronto was a frequent attendee. He said the club allowed him to explore his interest in TV journalism, which was inspired by his parents’ habit of watching news shows.
His favorite moment was singing “O Canada” on camera.
“Everyone was being really supportive,” he said, “saying I did a good job.”
Photography is the newest club, McCarthy said. It was established in 2024 after the previous year’s cherubs, including community and academic advisors Ashley Dong and Desiree Luo, showed a keen interest in photography.
“The cherubs have been taking amazing photos,” Dong said. “I would encourage them to continue trying new things and to pick up that camera, even if they aren’t super comfortable with it.”
