With hopes of introducing a more diverse range of people into the field of journalism, the University of Oklahoma does just that with the Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism.

OU holds an annual workshop every summer for a range of teenagers interested in journalism.

Harding’s own senior Skyla Parker was happy to be able to attend.

“I would definitely go back but I’m graduating. I would highly recommend people to go even if they weren’t interested in journalism,” Parker said.

OIDJ’s goal is to bring diversity into journalism but it is not only diversity by race but by people from all walks of life. OIDJ’s mission is to provide opportunities for students that do not have access to journalism training and would like to pursue a career with it.

“There was a variety of races there but I realized while I was there and reading and hearing people’s personal profiles on the website that diversity was more than race, it was our backgrounds that were diverse. A lot of people came from adversity in their lives,” Parker said.

Parker plans on majoring in journalism in college.

“It was a great way to get immersed into the field and also experience what it was like to be on a college campus,” she said.

Parker’s wish to pursue journalism came from a class she had her junior year.

“I started yearbook my junior year and I really enjoyed it. I knew I wanted to do something in the realm of English in college but I didn’t know what and journalism seemed like a good fit,” she said.

While she was there, Parker was mentored by Julie Jones, an award-winning photographer and also an associate professor at Gaylord College.

“I met a lot of cool people and professionals there,” Parker said. “I also met a group of girls and we just clicked. We even have a group message still going on now where we talk about our day.”

Visit the OIDJ website here.