International reporting class set for working spring-break trip to Argentina

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Assistant Teaching Professor of Journalism Katie O’Toole talks about her job at Penn State, her energy and enthusiasm are almost infectious, and when she’s in the classroom that same approach helps motivate students.

O’Toole brings a mix of expertise and passion to the classroom and beyond. During spring break, the international reporting class O’Toole teaches with Mila Sanina, also an assistant teaching professor of journalism, will go far beyond Happy Valley with a trip to Argentina.

“It is the highlight of what I do here. I love traveling as a journalist, being able to knock on doors and ask questions and learn more things that would not be possible as a regular tourist,” O’Toole said. “And I love sharing that with students.”

It’s a working trip, not a typical spring break vacation, and the 16 members of the class have been preparing since the start of the spring semester. Weeks of research and work are designed to help the students with their reporting efforts when they arrive in the country.

This year’s mix of potential stories ranges from the Argentine tango and its use treating Parkinson’s disease to the future of secondary education in the country and the role of traditional gauchos. Other student story ideas include ongoing protests for government transparency, the economics of Argentine soccer and gene editing in polo horses.

“It’s a time of transitions for Argentina, so that makes it interesting,” O’Toole said. “It’s an important part of the world right now. The more we looked into it, the more we found all these wonderful stories.”

Donor support and student interest have made the popular international reporting class the longest running “embedded” course in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications — and one of the few courses of its kind in U.S. higher education. In previous years, the international reporting class has traveled to numerous countries, including China, Cuba, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Scotland and Turkey.

It’s a regularly scheduled, spring semester class, with the working trip embedded in the middle of things during spring break. This year, students will share some behind-the-scenes moments of their reporting efforts and short stories from Argentina through a TikTok account created specifically for the annual efforts. Their longer-form stories and multimedia features will be published later by Bellisario College Student Media.

“Generally, travel and exposure and curiosity to other people makes you more resilient and a lifelong leaner,” Sanina said. “It’s what journalism is all about — learning more about people who live different lives. In this instance it’s extreme — language, culture, geography — but anything like that benefits you as a lifelong learner.”

Sanina, who joined the Penn State faculty in 2022, previously served as executive director of PublicSource.org, a nonprofit newsroom delivering public-service journalism in the Pittsburgh region. She led PublicSource to become an internationally recognized, independent local news organization known for its high-quality reporting on issues of environment, police accountability, government, health, education and economic development.

Before joining PublicSource, Sanina worked at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette where her last position was the deputy managing editor. Prior to that, Sanina worked at "The PBS Newshour" and CNN International. She started her reporting career in Central Asia.

Before beginning her teaching career, O’Toole worked for 24 years at Penn State Public Broadcasting where she won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy and multiple National Educational Television awards for her work as a producer, writer and on-air host for a children’s current events series. In addition, she produced and hosted political affairs programming, call-in programs on topical issues and a high school quiz show. She also worked in newspapers and radio.

Along with O’Toole, Sanina and the 16 students, three other faculty members will be part of the traveling party — offering students abundant support as they pursue their stories. Their newsgathering and storytelling efforts will include morning meetings, plenty of on-site reporting and evening debrief sessions.

“That, for me, is one of the most exciting parts because the students come back and they’re so excited because they nailed an interview or they got such good b-roll video,” O’Toole said. “They’re able to get so much hands-on experience and individual attention. I feel like they’re some of the luckiest students at Penn State.”