Since I moved to Mississippi about a year and a half ago, I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association, a statewide high school journalism organization.

The association is housed at the University of Mississippi where I’m a graduate assistant, and through a graduate assistantship, I’m able to work for the organization in exchange for a tuition waiver.

Along with director R.J. Morgan, I work to promote journalism in high schools throughout the state.

We accept member newspapers, yearbooks, broadcast programs and literary magazines, and we currently have more than 100 member publications.

Each fall, we host workshops at Ole Miss and Southern Miss where members are invited to come and learn more about current trends in the field. Working professionals, academics, advisers and sometimes students give presentations, and students are free to choose which sessions they attend.

You would not believe what some high schools in this state are doing in their journalism programs. For example, students from Oxford High School recently gave a talk about how they use footage from their football games shot by drones to create hype videos.

In the spring, we hold our state convention at Ole Miss, which is less than a month away now. Here there are more education sessions and an awards ceremony where students are recognized for their work in categories such as sports photography, column writing, design and a ton of other categories.

Working with MSPA has taught me so much more than membership recruitment and how to write better press releases and adviser spotlights. It’s taught me how important high school journalism really is.

We acknowledge that many of our students will go off to pursue careers outside the field of communication, but there are still so many life lessons they’ll take with them.

Journalism teaches students about communication, deadlines and teamwork — all skills vital for nearly any career.

Studies show that students who participate in student media fare better on standardized tests, exhibit more critical-thinking skills, and post higher GPAs than their non-journalist classmates.

Journalism is not a dying field, and our students deserve to have access courses and clubs dedicated to the discipline.

If you have a high school age child, I encourage you to ask them to take advantage of the opportunities they’re afforded while in high school.

It just might change their life like it did mine.

To learn more about the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association, visit http://mississippischolasticpress.com.

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Austin Vining is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. Email comments to austin.vining@vicksburgpost.com