(From left) Cathi Choi and Mitch Steinfield practice interviewing during a workshop.

(From left) James Bourne, Lindsay Tuchman and Katie Prentiss prepare for a broadcast lab in Louis.

Patrick Stumpf waits for a lecture to begin.

After their first full day at the National High School Institute, the journlism cherubs were mostly oriented. Most knew where their classrooms were, and those who didn’t could use their superior journalistic sense of direction to hone in on one of three buildings they were scheduled to be at for classes and lectures.

Fisk Hall

Fisk was the center of activity for most days. It was the site of fundamental classes, the essentials that would prepare the students for that day or that week’s assignments. The large lecture hall on the second floor is filled with chairs with leaning backs that squeaked. Cherubs used the third-floor to write articles.

At the beginning of the program, it was an unspoken rule among the cherubs to arrive at least 20 minutes early to class. This was mostly to avoid getting “spitlisted,” according to Fei Chen, of Easton, Mass.

Cherubs liked the lecture setting because it invited discussion and provided a change from their small class sizes at home.

“Being in the larger room with 87 other people helped us become more comfortable with each other,” Lauren Baldwin, of New Canaan, Conn., said. “Especially at the beginning, raising your hand and interacting with the instructors helped you become more well-known.”

By the third week, the 9 a.m. sessions usually brought in several late and soon-to-be-spitlisted cherubs who would stumble in bleary-eyed and out of breath. Afternoon sessions caught students more alert, but during evening lectures on photography and Sunday blog readings, students both wanted to pay attention and wanted events to end so they could socialize.

McCormick Tribune Forum

The glass-paneled McCormick Tribune Forum is impressive. Sleek leather couches in the lobby set the tone for a modern atmosphere. The actual auditorium sports a black stage, and comfortable seats create an intimate setting for guest speakers to converse with the cherubs, Baldwin said.

“I feel like you can interact a little better with the speakers, especially because they walk up and down the aisles,” Baldwin said.

Several speakers stood at the McCormick Tribune podium. Tokoni co-founder Mary Lou Song talked to cherubs about her experience combining journalism with entrepreneurship. Washington Post editor Peter Slevin talked about a career in foreign correspondence. And former Dow Jones reporter Desiree Hanford surprised the 88 students with a math quiz and told them that journalists do indeed need to know math.

Cherubs also watched movies in McCormick, thanks to its theater-like setting. All of the movies related to different aspects and issues in journalism. But movie nights usually followed field trips, and exhausted cherubs who brought pillows and blankets found that the comfortable seats were easy to doze in.

“It’s very much a sleeping setting, so the chairs are very comfortable and the dimmed lights just make you want to doze off,” Mike Juliani, of Pasadena, Calif., said.

John J. Louis Hall

John J. Louis Hall brought print-oriented cherubs into the world of broadcast. As Chen’s group entered the building for broadcast labs and climbed the freestanding staircase, she wondered exactly what they were in for. But both Chen and Baldwin were reassured by the small setting and awed by the anchor desk.

“Even though I’m not interested in being a broadcast journalist, I thought the technology in the building was really impressive – especially the desk and the room behind the desk,” Baldwin said.