For Petra Chung, Matt Leslie, Guru Amar Khalsa, and Laura Mahaffey – all students in the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication – this summer was all about baseball.

Teaming up with instructor Dan Morrison, the students covered 18 Eugene Emeralds home games, providing a story of the game and a photo gallery of up to 30 images to kval.com.

Morrison selected the team based on the quality of the students’ work and their drive to become professional journalists. The project took place outside of a class – which means no credits were earned – and was a volunteer effort by Morrison, as well.

For Morrison, the draw was the chance to immerse students in real-word deadline situations. Students were only allotted a few hours to complete their pieces after games, which ended around 10 p.m.

“This is not a teaching moment, this is a get-it-done moment,” Morrison said.

For the students, the time and energy devoted — working as late as 2 a.m. — gave them what they need to stand out after graduation: professional clips.

“I was inspired because I love doing projects outside of class, and I really enjoy the team that Dan put together,” Khalsa said.

- from the UO School of Journalism and Communication