For Homestead High School Publications, both the first and second time’s a charm. Lauren Faucett, junior and The Highlander Online Web Editor, has been selected to represent the state of Wisconsin at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in June.
The Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference is a five day summer program held in Washington, D.C., for rising seniors who are passionate about authenticity in journalism, multimedia, and day-to-day life. Only one applicant from each state is selected, with thousands of applications submitted nationwide. In addition to the all-expenses-paid experience, which features newsroom tours, private panel presentations, and networking opportunities, the attendees also receive a $1,000 college scholarship.
Christina Baumann, senior and Homestead Publications current Editor-in-Chief, was also selected to represent Wisconsin for last year’s 2025 conference. Homestead Publications’ dedication to being a community that values collaboration and leadership has resulted in student success spreading beyond the classroom.
Baumann believes that Homestead Publications helped strengthen her journalism skills, which made her a desirable candidate.
“Publications was a solid building ground where I could learn what I was good at and what I liked. It opened so many doors for me to go do other things, which led me to even bigger things like Free Spirit, and I think Lauren would agree,” Baumann said.
While the variety of experiences Publications offers enhances young journalists’ skills, the variety of
people and their experience levels strengthen students’ ability to collaborate.
“I think it’s amazing that people with different levels of experience can create such great work. Everyone is very approachable and easy to ask questions to, and I try to be that myself. I think it’s very important to be welcoming, and everyone is. We are all very trusting and supportive,” Faucett said.
Publications prides itself on creating a space where new journalists can thrive under the leadership of experienced individuals.
“I think this program functions a lot like a varsity sports team does, where the culture and expectations of the upperclassmen and the seniors are critical for setting the tone. So, I think Christina applying and getting accepted a year ago was critical in Lauren knowing about the opportunity and believing that she could be the one selected,” Kelly Denk, Homestead Publications Advisor and Homestead English teacher, said.
Baumann and Faucett have over three years of experience working together as Publications staff members.
“I think a huge contributor to being selected was the letters of recommendation that Christina and Mrs. Denk wrote. Having people that believed in me enough to think I would be a good fit for that was very important, and I really appreciated that,” Faucett said.
Faucett is looking forward to attending the conference in June.
“I am honestly excited for the whole thing. We get to see the behind-the-scenes of the newsroom and reporting, which I think will be really cool,” Faucett said.
