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Contributors to the Ben Lomond Spirit magazine, from left, Daniel A. Avila, Jaylon Penn and Lavell Walker pose for a photo with the magazine at Ben Lomond High on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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Ben Lomond Spirit magazines sit on a rack at Ben Lomond High on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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Contributors to the Ben Lomond Spirit magazine including Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, bottom left, enjoy a lunch together.

Jim Konig, Standard-Examiner

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Contributors to the Ben Lomond Spirit magazine enjoy a lunch together.

Jim Konig, Standard-Examiner

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Contributors to the Ben Lomond Spirit" magazine, from left, Jaylon Penn, Lavell Walker and Daniel A. Avila laugh as they look at the magazine at Ben Lomond High on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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Standard-Examiner Publisher Jim Konig talks to students about the Ben Lomond Spirit magazine at Ben Lomond High School on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — A budding partnership between Ben Lomond High School’s Urban Student Alliance and the Standard-Examiner newspaper bore its first fruit this month with the debut of the Ben Lomond Spirit magazine.

1,500 issues of the magazine were printed and distributed to the school, where they were made available to the student body. With volume one completed, Standard-Examiner Publisher Jim Konig, along with student members and club leaders, plans to continue releasing the magazine on a monthly basis, starting in September with the arrival of the new school year.

“We want this magazine to be the students’ magazine,” Konig said of the publication.

The concept for the magazine emerged during a March meeting at the Standard-Examiner offices attended by the Urban Student Alliance club, its advisors, newspaper leadership and Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski, who club advisor Delores Banks-Green credited with helping to facilitate the partnership.

“The mayor is a connector. So, he connected me with (Konig) who came up with the idea, ‘OK, I would like for your club to start a magazine,'” Banks-Green told the Standard-Examiner. “This is a big challenge for them. It’s going to really stretch them because it’s going to teach them a lot of things within them that they may not even know that they have. But they’ve got a lot of support.”

The Urban Student Alliance began in 2021 as the Black Student Union peer leadership class. After the class was discontinued due to funding cuts, it was restructured as a club and renamed to welcome students from all backgrounds, according to Banks-Green.

During club meetings, students explore history, share personal and collective experiences and discuss topics like self-worth and identity. The club also offers academic support, engages students in community activities and organizes field trips — including a past visit to several historic Black colleges.

In the first issue of the magazine, Nadolski noted that the students in the club had impressed upon him their desire to elevate school spirit at Ben Lomond and “strengthen the sense of belonging.” Meanwhile, the Standard-Examiner had been exploring potential avenues toward making a positive impact in the local community.

Those concepts coalesced in that initial newsroom meeting, during which students openly shared their stories and struggles during a candid conversation that struck a chord with Konig.

“I wasn’t privileged or anything else, right? I worked for everything I got as well, but I didn’t have to worry about a roof over my head. I didn’t have to chip in at home when I worked to make sure we had food on the table. These kids do,” Konig said. “What a rude awakening I got with what these kids go through. Some of them work to midnight during the week, they don’t have time for homework … They get called out during the day to go home to babysit, things like that. It was a real eye-opener for me.”

Armed with these insights, the Standard-Examiner committed funding, staff mentorship and printing resources to launch the student magazine as part of the greater effort to be a force for good where these kids live and work. Three club members were officially hired to comprise a student editorial board and weekly meetings were held under the guidance of Konig, the club’s advisors — including veteran reporter-turned-teacher Mark Saal — and entrepreneur/thought leader Letroy Woods.

Putting the first issue together wasn’t easy, according to junior Daniel Avila, who plans to continue with both the club and the magazine next year.

“I honestly felt kind of like this club and the Standard-Examiner was kind of like a lesson for me — to know that I shouldn’t give up when things get hard,” Avila said.

Junior Lavell Walker had a similar takeaway, saying, “It’s helped me with time management for one. That’s a big thing. And then it also gets me used to working a lot more because I haven’t had like an official job. I usually just do side quests here and there to earn money. … So, this has opened a door for me to actually get a job and stuff.”

And while bolstering school spirit is an ongoing process, students believe that headway has been made and they’re looking forward to the continued effort.

“I’m excited because I’m going to be one of the writers,” Avila said. “I’m excited to write about my own personal experience here and what’s going on and how to keep students informed about what’s going on, about events that the school is going to have and to support each event, so that we can have our school spirit back.”

In the meantime, the Standard-Examiner will continue to support its student partners at Ben Lomond while seeking other ways to make an impact (and celebrating the small victories along the way).

“For these kids — and anyone who gets involved with us — if we’re able to teach them some life lessons, the whole project would be successful,” Konig said.

The Urban Student Alliance at Ben Lomond High School is currently in a “recruitment phase” for next year, according to Banks-Green. Students interested in joining can email her at deloresgreen2842@gmail.com.