Ryleigh Wilson is the Features Editor and Magazine Co-Editor of the Bridge student newspaper of Bridgeland High School in Cypress, Texas. Wilson creates engaging educational resources to raise awareness for New Voices efforts. 

“Student press freedom is so important to me because my future is in the print publication industry, and I really want to establish a safe environment for prospective students who want to continue their own journey into the journalism industry. It’s important to pass New Voices legislation because it’s the first major step in the modern world in regaining our voices and creating more opportunities for the future generations who want to speak their mind safely and who know how powerful their voices can be if they had the freedom to use them regardless of administrative pushback.“

What I Do

As the Education Officer of New Voices Texas, I work to teach student journalists about their legal rights within the journalism field.

Alongside this, I will develop educational materials and tools to help student journalists speak up about these rights in their schools and cities throughout the school year. I will also guide advisers to push for student journalism rights and less censorship within schools. This will be done in tandem with the Communications Officer as we establish more informative material together to establish more outreach to students and faculty who are invested in the future of journalism. 

I will measure success as an officer by creating materials based on the effectiveness of their use in classrooms and student responsiveness. This is in order to establish a future where they are free to speak their mind without censorship. 

By the end of the school year, I hope that I have brought more journalists and advisers to speak their minds on the current state of journalism in schools and that they understand the importance that these rights have not only in future journalism, but the impact they have on society as a whole.