The Communications Program hosted approximately 70 students from four area high schools for the Pennsylvania School Press Association’s regional competition on Nov. 18.
SFU is one of eight regional sites that hosted competitions this fall. Winners from the eight regions advance to the PSPA state finals at Penn State in the spring.
Students from Altoona, Bellwood, State College and Tyrone Area High Schools attended the event, as did teachers and advisors from the four schools.
In addition to the PSPA’s journalism competitions, the visiting students also participated in workshops led by members of SFU’s Communications faculty.
Instructor Matt Hankinson led a workshop on photography and another on flying drones. Professor Pat Farabaugh hosted a newspaper workshop.
Altoona Mirror newspaper reporter Colette Costlow delivered the keynote address to open the conference. Costlow graduated from SFU in May of 2025. She majored in English and minored in Communications.
Costlow served as a staff reporter at the Troubadour for two years and was the Fine Arts Editor of the publication during her senior year (2024-25).
“As a writer for the Troubadour, I was exposed to a lot of subjects, both in my field of fine arts and outside this field.”
Costlow said that one of the most valuable attributes a journalist can possess is curiosity.
“Stay curious and ask questions,” she said.
She also emphasized the importance of objectivity and taking advantage of experiences outside the classroom.
I learned how to set up a story when I was writing for the Troubadour,” said Costlow.
Communications Program Chair Kelly Rhodes worked with the staff at the PSPA to organize the event.
“I really hope that the students realize how important their work is,” said Rhodes. “How important it is to write stories; how important it is to report the news; how important news is to a community.
“I hope they realize that there’s opportunity for them to continue to do this kind of work in the future.”
