Carrie Wadycki-Cruz has been named a Master Journalism Educator by the Journalism Education Association, and she was the Indiana High School Press Association Adviser of the Year in 2013. She’s spent the past 20 years advising high-school publications. But before that, she wanted to be a photographer. She attained a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State in 1999, but Lake Central High School had a teaching position available at the last minute ... and she’s been there ever since.
Originally from Munster, Indiana, Carrie teaches subjects such as newspaper publication, online journalism, broadcasting, photography, yearbook, and journalism writing. Her classrooms are a pedagogical blend of mechanics and ethics, and she’s contributed in the past to her alma mater by way of teaching and coordinating events through Ball State’s Journalism Workshops program. Carrie has said that the greatest qualities a teacher can have are the ability to carefully listen to their students and to make sure they are having as much of a learning experience as their students.