PORTLAND, OR - Last week featured the start of the second season of CJ’s Press Pass Program, a journalism-based mentorship program in the Portland area for prep students. This year, Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum kicked off the program along with Prep2Prep, which was announced as his new community partner in the annual venture.
The opening event took place last Wednesday at the Nines Hotel in downtown Portland, and allowed students in the program to meet McCollum, along with Prep2Prep founder Danny Kadah, and other representatives from both groups. Students were able to hear from McCollum about his educational background and his off-court professional life as a journalist, which includes his role as Contributing Editor for The Players’ Tribune.
“The media is extremely important to me, not just as an NBA player, but as a fan of the game,” McCollum said. “That’s why I decided to launch this educational program. The idea is pretty simple. I want to empower high school students to get hands-on journalism experience so that they will be better prepared to pursue a career in media if they think it’s for them.”
This past Monday, the students in the program were treated to the unique opportunity of serving as full-blown media members at the Blazers game, a game in which the host team lost in overtime to the Atlanta Hawks, but McCollum put on a display for the group, leading the team with 26 points and five assists.
Students are also competing for the right to be featured on McCollum’s website and on a segment of The Playlist, his Friday night radio show. They will be working on written, audio, or visual project to submit by the mid-March deadline. In addition, they have been given the chance to become paid student contributors as reporters and/or photographers for Prep2Prep, which is expanding to the Portland area to coincide with its involvement in the CJ’s Press Pass Program.
"We are very excited to be working with CJ's Press Pass," Kadah said. "In addition to being one of the top basketball players in the world, CJ is a terrific ambassador not only for the NBA but for the role of journalism in our society. It is a unique opportunity to work with a great organization while at the same time expanding our operation into the Pacific Northwest."
As new members of Prep2Prep, students will have the opportunity to build professional portfolios through a reputable media outlet, while improving through professional feedback, and becoming team members to increase coverage and visibility of high school sporting events in the Portland area. Of course, they are also paid for their contributions.
If any other students are interested in becoming members of the Prep2Prep team, please apply through the link on our site, or email us at info@prep2prep.com
