By Pechulano Ngwe Ali, Staff
For four days this fall, a group of high school students turned their weekends into a chance to make their voices heard. Through ThreeSixty Journalism’s annual Opinion Writing Workshop, 16 young writers from 13 Twin Cities schools explored how their lived experiences and local observations can shape Minnesota’s public conversations.
They tackled issues that shape their daily lives including ICE raids, artificial intelligence, mental health and social media, the importance of free school meals, ethical alternatives to fast fashion, why Minneapolis should support the Roof Depot urban farm project, political division, and education policies that fail to teach critical thinking. Others wrote about drug use policies in schools, funding rural schools, and youth political engagement ahead of the 2025 St. Paul mayoral election.
Organized in partnership with Sahan Journal and MinnPost, two leading Minnesota media outlets known for amplifying perspectives from a diversity of local communities, the workshop showed students that their perspectives matter, and that even “little, local” topics as MinnPost’s Scott Gillespie called them, can create profound change.
“Sometimes the little topics really make a difference,” Gillespie told students. “Writing about what’s relevant to you, those are the stories that connect.”
During the workshop, students learned how to turn frustration, curiosity, and compassion into arguments and action. Each student’s story started with a simple but challenging question: what do you care about most in your community, and why should others care too?
Each topic reflected something personal, an injustice felt, a policy questioned, or a community they wanted others to understand better.
Sahan Journal’s News and Opinion Editor, Trisha Collopy, reminded students that strong opinion writing is rooted in truth-telling and courage. “The most important thing an opinion and commentary piece can do right now is start a conversation,” she said. “When we have voices that weren’t at the table—people who bring perspectives we haven’t heard before—that’s when people feel invited in.”
Spaces that build critical thinking and encourage youth to consider and call for the change needed in their communities are crucial in today’s political and social climate, where misinformation, polarization and attacks on the press have made it harder for youth to trust their voices or believe they can shape public dialogue.
For some students, the process started with discomfort. “When I started, I was so used to taking myself out of what I was writing,” said Janya Dieringer, a junior at Johnson Senior High School and member of ThreeSixty’s Youth Leadership Board, who participated. “But by the end, I found what matters to me. Now that I know how to use my voice, I want to write more.”
That transformation—finding confidence in their own perspective—aligns with what ThreeSixty aims to do. Instructors and newsroom professionals worked side-by-side with students, coaching them to bring their ideas to local news with clear structure, persuasive evidence, and clarity.
Dr. April Eichmeier, assistant profession of strategic communication in the department of Emerging Media at University of St. Thomas also featured as guest instructor.
16 students completed opinion stories ready for publication. All are available on ThreeSixty’s website, and they will soon be published by Sahan Journal and MinnPost and other local media partners.
This year’s workshop was supported by 15 volunteer writing and editing coaches: Madi McVan, Muna Isse, Scott Winter, Peter Majerle, Bianca Jones, Terry Wolkerstorfer, Jess Horwitz, Emily Chaney, Samantha HoangLong, Rochelle Olson, Trisha Collopy, Keith Harris, Areeba Memon, Ngoc Bui, and Aketzally Murillo.
