Jeremiah McKinney

Hey, I’m Jeremiah! I am currently a rising senior at North Cobb High school which is where I am studying and learning to major in journalism at university. I am on the Media Team for The Chant which is the schools newspaper at NC. I live in Acworth, Georgia. I’m 17 years old and I play the trombone in band. I am very passionate and involved with my hobbies! I have been in band for 6 years. Since 6th grade, four of those years I have been spent in Marching Band which is where I spend most of my time.

I always had a passion for writing, so journalism has always been an option for me. I decided to give it a chance last year and I am so glad I did since it has become a true passion for me now. I have learned so many things and I can feel how much it has helped me improve my writing and creativty skills in the best ways possible. I always have so much fun with anything I do. I am consistently trying to improve and make everything to the highest quality possible. While having a hint of my personality within it.

With me starting my pathway going into journalism last year, I have already won multiple awards for my work. Since I am on the Media Team at NC, I mainly do things like videos, podcasts and all the artwork for the team. I love recording and editing videos. Since I have a lot of experience with it, you can always find me doing it when I have the chance when I am not playing the trombone. One video piece I have done that I would love to show off is my Game day with the North Cobb Marching Band, which won an award. This was a clear sign for me to go deeper into journalism since this was the first thing I have ever done in the world of journalism for The Chant. Which made it feel even more rewarding.

Another piece I have done is my investigative journalism piece titled The true cost of school where I talk about, well the cost of school. I put so much time into this and I think personally that the time and effort I put into it truly shows. I got to speak with professionals about the topic which was really cool. I interviewed book authors and public speakers for this topic so the information is as true and clear as possible. Another sign to continue my passion into journalism was winning an award for this investigative piece.

For band, I am a section leader / operations manager for the low brass section. Having leadership experience with the band helped me with journalism in a way that’s hard to put into words. I love both with a passion, but the band story would have to be a whole story in itself. It helped set me up to be even more successful in the journalism world. My goal is to make an impact with my work, I want people to see my love and passion through the words I say. I try my best to make my stories interesting and make life out of everything I do.

This whole process lead me to becoming the Media editor for The Chant, I will be the one reading and editing all of the media works before they are moved on to be posted. I can’t wait to start this next chapter and see what else it unlocks! I have already learned so much, and I can’t wait to continue to grow and use the skills I have learned.