On April 17, students from the newspaper and journalism department attended the University of Montana’s annual Journalism Day. Three of CMR students were awarded for their photography and writing skills. Senior Justina Kleinsasser’s submission in the sports photography category won her first place with a photo of Dean Blair during a cross-town game. Along with Kleinsasser, junior Malena Gangi won first place in the category of news photography with her Rustler Roast photos. She also was awarded third place in feature photography. Junior Maddy Osterman won first place with her article in the sports feature writing category. Both Osterman and Gangi submitted their sports event writing and won first place with their football article. In the Online Pacesetter category, rustlernews.com earned third place. The students who went on the trip to Missoula experienced a taste of college life by attending short, 40-minute classes taught by the college professors. They mainly focused on different aspects of journalism allowing hands-on experience with different equipment. The classes students could choose included contrasting ways of writing, working with podcasting, and different careers in the field of journalism. The group visited the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas near Arlee and the sculpture park near Lincoln.
Annual High School Journalism Day at University of Montana
April 24, 2025
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About the Contributors
Maddy Osterman, Newspaper Staff
Maddy Osterman is a junior at Charles M. Russell High School. She enjoys many things such as learning Spanish, photography, and writing. She grew up in a family of six with many pets, moving all around Montana when she was younger due to her dad being in the military. She’s lived in Helena, Butte, and Great Falls. Osterman usually spends her free time running with the CMR cross country team, training for the Las Vegas Half Marathon, becoming a lady wrestler, and running track. She spends a lot of time with her friends and family, as they are a big priority for her. She enjoys a lot of different genres of music such as country, rap, and 90s hip hop. With many goals in life she aspires to go to college for photography or journalism, possibly join the military, and travel around. She has always wanted to go somewhere in Mexico and has helped that goal with learning Spanish the last four years.
Beth Britton, Adviser
Beth Britton is a teacher at C. M. Russell High School. She has been on the CMR staff for 21 years, and in that time she has taught freshman, sophomore and senior English, Newspaper Workshop, Yearbook Workshop, Introduction to Journalism, Photojournalism and Rustler Wellness. Britton is a member of the Great Falls Symphony, and in addition to playing the string bass she is the vocalist for a local jazz band. She grew up in Great Falls and attended high school in Andover, Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. in English from Barnard College in New York City and a M.A. in journalism from the University of Montana. She has worked as a reporter for the Sidney Herald-Leader in Montana, the Bend Bulletin in Bend, Ore., and the Great Falls Tribune. She enjoys hiking, traveling and working in her garden.