Member advisers will elect three positions to MIPA’s executive board: first vice president and two trustees. Candidates for these officers will be nominated at the MIPA annual meeting on April 23. Candidates who have expressed an interest to date are featured below. Additional candidates may be nominated.
Elections will take place via email ballot. Ballots are being emailed to current members on April 23 and must be returned by May 13 to be counted. Please contact the MIPA office if you have questions about your ballot or do not receive one.
Candidates were asked to respond to a questionnaire. Their answers are below. Responses to questions about work experience, educator and honors were edited by MIPA’s director for format and length. You can learn more about these offices by reading MIPA’s bylaws.
First Vice President
MIPA’s first vice president serves a two-year term before automatically becoming MIPA’s president for two years, followed by past president for 1 year.
Cody Harrell
East Lansing High School
- Years at current school: 6
- Years as a teacher: 6
- Student media programs advised: Ceniad Yearbook, Portrait Newspaper
- Current MIPA office, if any: Secretary
- Previous MIPA experience: MIPA judge (2013-present); MIPA fall speaker (2016-present); MIPA summer camp assistant teacher (2017-18); MIPA summer camp floor counselor and activity assistant (2012-2016); MIPA One Day Workshop instructor (2018-19); MIPA camp instructor (2019, 2022); MIPA board trustee (2019-2021); MIPA secretary (2021-present).
- Past work experience: East Lansing High School teacher (2016-present); MSU School of Journalism office assistant (2013-16); Haslett High School student teacher adviser (2016-17); Lansing Lugnuts press box (2016-2021); David Crumm Media copy editor (2015-present)
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, Michigan State University; certified in journalism (BX) and English (BA)
- Honors, awards & activities: JEA Rising Star (2020); Certified Journalism Educator, CJE (2019-present); Jostens LookBook Selection (2020, 21, 22); Spartan Award winner (2019); Outstanding Senior, Michigan State University School of Journalism, 2015; Mary Gardner Scholar, Michigan State University School of Journalism 2015 Kappa Tau Alpha Top Scholar, 2015; Woodrow Wilson Sr. and Lily B. Wilson Endowed Scholarship in Education recipient, 2015; Winthrop Faulkner Scholarship for Journalism Educators recipient, 2014 & 2015; Journalism Education Association Future Teacher Scholarship recipient, 2014
- Why I’m seeking this office: I have been a MIPA member for 14 years as of the 2022-23 school year, and every year has contributed more to my personal and professional life than nearly any other organization I have ever been a part of. I’m seeking this office to be in a position to directly give back to the organization that has given me so much in those 13 years. Much of the past three years were spent pivoting and working toward advancing MIPA through the pandemic — and now that I have seen just how resilient our advising community is, I can’t wait to lead us through the recovery and resurgence that will set the pace for press associations around the country. I already know that I am a lifelong MIPA member — to serve as the first vice president right now will allow me the opportunity to learn from and lead alongside my heroes for the next five years and help set the tone for the future of the advising community here in MIPA. Additionally, I hope to help provide more opportunities to journalism and English educators to advance their content knowledge in advising all styles of journalistic publications. I have a soft spot in my heart for those who want to take up the mantle of being an adviser — I want them to feel supported and like their teaching makes a difference.
- Here’s something else I’d like MIPA members to know about me: Ask me about my kombucha addiction. I’d love to share with you!
Trustees
Trustees serve a two-year term and two positions are available.
Alison Drougel
Monroe High School
- Years at current school: 16
- Years as a teacher: 21
- Student media programs advised: Lotus Leaf News Media Outlet – one outlet that includes three branches that collaborate: broadcast, newsmagazine and online/social media.
- Current MIPA office, if any: None
- Previous MIPA experience: I have been a member of MIPA since 2012 at MHS, but also was a member for Henry Ford Academy in 2003-2004. I, myself, went to MIPA as a student journalist with MHS in 1995-1997. I have sent students to the fall conference, the spring awards and the summer camp several years and have served as a counselor two years, proudly running activities like night running and yoga. My daughter participates in the camps and won a Sparty award for broadcast in her sophomore year and in podcasting her junior year. I recently was a judge for the spring awards.
- Past work experience: I have advised the news outlet at MHS for the past 16 years, and before that started a newspaper at a small charter school at Henry Ford and Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Academy. I immediately enrolled them in MIPA. I also am a member of the JEA and my daughter and I attended the national conference in Washington, D.C., right before the pandemic. I attended MSU for journalism and humanities, studying graphic design and public relations. After school, I worked in a PR firm and then for a nonprofit. I went into teaching and have also started two nonprofits of my own, the most recent called Muddy Lotus Recovery. Its mission is to bridge the recovery gap from treatment to self management for survivors of mental illness and addiction. I use my journalism and PR skills every day to direct that organization. The Lotus Leaf, which was a print newspaper when I took over in 2012, has since grown to include online, social media, video, podcast and now a weekly broadcast. We continue to strive to learn the latest journalism techniques and mediums to keep on the forefront of the industry for our students.
- Education: B.A. in interdisciplinary studies in humanities from Michigan State University (journalism, studio art, ELA); M.A. in teaching English (memoir writing) from Wayne State University; Teaching certificate in secondary education ELA, French and journalism
- Honors, awards & activities: No response
- Why I’m seeking this office: I am seeking an office on the MIPA board because I want to be in the loop and learn from other advisers, sharing ideas and techniques with the best in the state. Everyone I have met from MIPA each brings their own unique experience and expertise to the table, and I want to take it all in, bringing it back to my students. The journalism industry is an ever-changing industry and, in order to stay ahead of it, one has to immerse oneself in it and surround oneself with those who holds its knowledge.
- Here’s something else I’d like MIPA members to know about me: I also studied opera and jazz at MSU, as well as worked at The State News from 1997-1999. I was an entertainment writer, a Lansing reporter, worked in pagination and did page design. I have two talented teens who both are in journalism, one in sports journalism and one in broadcast. I enjoy swimming and doing triathlons in my spare time, as well as visiting cat cafes and thrifting.
Kate McCallum
South Lyon East High School
- Years at current school: 15
- Years as a teacher: 15
- Student media programs advised: WSLH-TV (video), The East Edition (print magazine), Beast News (news website), Halfway There (podcast)
- Current MIPA office, if any: Interim Trustee
- Previous MIPA experience: MIPA camp volunteer, conference program speaker, contest judge, trustee for the board, and have taken MIPA adviser classes
- Past work experience: Aside from teaching, I have been a columnist for a few magazines, an MPA intern ( with Janet Mendler) and a coordinator/writer for a menagerie of side media projects. I have taught at both high school and middle school. I have also coached many sports including varsity equestrian and varsity track. I studied and interned closely with Diane Herder, Julie Price, Cheryl Pell, Janet Mendler and some other iconic MIPA people. More about me:
- Education: B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University; M.A. in educational technology from Michigan State University
- Honors, awards & activities: I have completed two Ironman triathlons. I have traveled the world competing with my show dogs and horses (Alaskan Malamutes/quarter horses)
- Why I’m seeking this office: I have been a part of the organization for my entire career and I cherish the people and values it brings to my life. I feel I have some unique perspectives that diversify the program.
- Here’s something else I’d like MIPA members to know about: I feel like I represent a unique perspective compared to some of the powerhouse media programs in the state. In my career I have started several publications from scratch (in more than one school), been both prior reviewed and censored in a very conservative area, and continuously fight to keep our student media alive in an ever-changing school district (and world!). I feel like I can help speak for the small programs out there and I have experience in a very diverse array of media. I also have a 5-year-old daughter, a husband and two dogs.
Jim Woehrle
Midland High School
- Years at current school: 22
- Years as a teacher: 22
- Student media programs advised: Focus newspaper
- Current MIPA office, if any: None
- Previous MIPA experience: For 16 years (2004-2019), I was an instructor at the Summer Workshop. I taught classes in editorial leadership, Adobe InDesign and sports coverage. I have spoken at several fall conferences – probably a dozen or so. I also have participated in about 10 Judging Days.
- Past work experience: When I was 15 years old, I got a job working in the press room of my hometown newspaper in Saline, Michigan. Since then, I have had ink in my veins, working in some journalism capacity for every job I’ve ever held. After getting a journalism degree, I was a newspaper reporter at several papers in the Midwest (1991-2000), mostly covering sports but also some hard news, photography and page design. These were papers in Jackson (Mich.), Casey (Ill.), Evansville (Ind.) and Midland (Mich.).
- Education: B.S. in journalism, Michigan State University (1991); B.A. in education, Central Michigan University (1999); M.A. in education, Central Michigan University (2003); 45 hours of graduate classes beyond master’s
- Honors, awards & activities: MIPA Golden Pen Award – 2016; Golden Pen Nominee – 2004; Midland Public Schools Gerstacker Award for Teaching Excellence – 2020. In my time as adviser, the Focus has won 18 Spartan Awards and two NSPA Pacemakers. The Focus has been a Pacemaker finalist three other times.
- Why I’m seeking this office: At the beginning of my career, I used to think my mission was to teach and prepare the next generation of print journalists. After all, that’s what I did when I left high school. But over the years, as print journalism has changed dramatically, I have been more concerned with preparing people who can thoughtfully investigate and question the world around them and make sense of it. By presenting their reporting in an engaging way to an audience of their peers, they are doing the kind of project-based learning that I hope will never go out of style. Newspapers may change, but this kind of learning — when done well — is some of the most relevant classroom activity I’ve ever been privileged to witness. This shift in my mindset as an educator would not have been possible without the positive influence of MIPA. I have learned much by attending fall conferences, taking grad classes and listening informally to many a summer evening discussion during the workshop. I would like to give back to the organization that has benefitted me so much over the two-plus decades of my career. I believe my experience as a professional journalist and adviser would give me an insight that would prove valuable to the MIPA board.
- Here’s something else I’d like MIPA members to know about: No response.