Through teacher recognition and student appreciation, student media teacher, Greg Janda, was awarded Timber Creek teacher of the year and acknowledged as a finalist for secondary teacher of the year.
Before becoming a teacher, Janda was a reporter for NBC5 since late 2008 and has written over a thousand articles there.
“It’s exciting to see [Janda] draw on his experience at NBCDFW.com to shape possible future journalists at Timber Creek High School,” Elvira Sakmari, NBCDFW’s Digital Director, said. “We are happy to congratulate him on his success.”
After coming to Timber Creek, Janda started to teach journalism classes and created the student run newspaper, the Talon. Kicked off in the 2014-2015 school year, the Talon currently has published over 1,500 articles on a range of different subjects such as Falcon Football Playoffs to bass fishing.
“Janda has been one of the most influential teachers. He is always there for students, reminding them that the pen is mightier than the sword,” Kristina Dargan, Timber Creek Talon senior, said. “He constantly reminds us that we have a lot of potential and to not be afraid of using it.”
Before Janda came to Timber Creek to teach journalism, a team of Kathy Beers and James Johnson were the two main sources for information other than TCTV which was run by Dell Ison.
“[The journalism program] has brought a wealth of experience in journalism to our campus,” said Assistant Principal James Johnson. “The Talon has given our students many opportunities to gain valuable experience.”
After Ison left for Keller Center for Advanced Learning, KCAL, in the summer of 2016, Janda took over the TCTV class and it now is broadcast journalism and radio broadcasting. Janda co-teaches the class with Casey Floyd on both A and B days.
“Janda has the energy of a 4-year-old and the work ethic of a Founding Father,” Floyd said. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as he does. He makes me tired watching him do it. He’s just really great. It’s super easy to feed off of him and his energy.”
Janda, along with a couple of students such as Karoline Austin, has started TCFM, Timber Creek’s first radio station that plays music, talk shows and live audio from Timber Creek Sports Net livestreamed games.
“Janda has definitely inspired me to do the majority of student media in which I do now. I never thought I could produce a radio station by myself,” Austin commented. “He’s really just helped motivate me to keep doing what I love.”
Janda has also started Timber Creek Sports Net, Timber Creek’s first livestream network for a variety of sports such as football and wrestling through the National Federation of State High School Associations, NFHS.
“It’s a learning experience with the different variety of games that we are able to livestream,” Caroline Epperson, TCTV and Talon reporter. “Being able to learn things in high school that you can add on your resume is a really great experience that Janda has given us.”
Janda has started most of the Timber Creek Student Media from the ground up using his past experiences and learning.
“He’s a man that gives and expects nothing in return ever, the hours he spends with [students] trying to get [them] real world experience is amazing,” Donald Bartlett, Timber Creek principal said. “ I just love him, I think he’s great for education and great for kids. I love that he’s here with me.”