Longtime Fresno journalism teacher wins top honor — and big surprises from ex-students
If there’s one thing student journalists fear, it’s that their hard work won’t always be taken seriously next to that of professional reporters.
But at The Feather, Fresno Christian High School’s digital newspaper, that was never a question, thanks to its beloved adviser of 25 years, Greg Stobbe.
“He really just treated us like professionals. It was very empowering,” said Tynin Fries, a Feather alumna who now works at The Denver Post.
“It’s so crazy being in high school – 17 years old, my senior year – and feeling like I was, you know, in the journalism world,” said Kylie Insco, another alumna of the newspaper who now works in advertising. “We’d be going to all kinds of community events, and I would be able to say hi to the local news anchors and reporters – because I was always there, too.”
Insco and Fries are just two of many students whose lives were touched by Stobbe’s teaching.
On Friday, Stobbe’s influence captured formal recognition from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, which presented Stobbe with the Charles R. O’Malley Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Named after a former CSPA director, the award is the CSPA’s highest accolade for journalism teachers.
Feather alumni from all over the country gathered at their old high school campus Friday night to celebrate Stobbe’s recognition.
They also surprised Stobbe with the award, who was unaware of it before that evening. In fact, it was an evening of surprises for the veteran teacher. His daughters surprised him earlier in the evening with a special dinner. He was surprised again when dozens gathered to celebrate his career.
Entering the room Friday night, Stobbe took in the size of the crowd before asking how many were former students of his. Most of the large audience answered with an eruption of cheers and applause.
“That makes it even better!” Stobbe replied, joining the cheering crowd.
The O’Malley Award was the final surprise of the night.
“We’re celebrating all of the time, the effort, the investments that he has put into generations of kids,” said Kori James, who co-advisers with Stobbe at the Feather. “He’s made such an impact.”
Stobbe, who’s losing his vision to a battle with a rare form of melanoma, struggled to see the old students and friends gathered to celebrate his career.
But their love and support could be felt from miles away.
Dozens of former students sent letters and video messages, many of which were played during the evening.
Reflecting on the award later in the evening, Stobbe was still more interested in talking about his students and their achievements.
”You know there’s nothing better than spending time with students who want to be in my class,” Stobbe told The Bee, “despite what I asked of them.”
‘What do you have for me today?’
As a teacher and journalism adviser, Stobbe has a reputation for being as demanding of his students as he is supportive. Many of the students who went through Stobbe’s journalism lab through the years said it was like no other classroom.
The lab was the only room on campus with rolling chairs, which Insco said made them feel “very official.”
But under Stobbe’s charismatic leadership, that room was also a stage, where Stobbe would mount the desk for a monologue about a particularly impressive article. Or a dance floor, where he’d blast music and rally his students to sing and dance along.
Stobbe was also known for pushing his students. Sometimes that meant ripping their stories apart – “literally,” Fries said.
“He’d take his red pen and, like, stab it through your paper, where you spelled something wrong or forgot a period,” she said. “It was in a very fun way, but also in a very, like, he’s not going to be easy on you just because you’re new (way).”
In addition to his antics, some of Stobbe’s words of advice uttered in the news lab reverberate in his students’ heads to this day, especially his catchphrase: “What do you have for me today?”
“I think that’s something that I ask myself going into every pitch meeting, into every planning meeting,” said Fries. “What do I have to contribute, even if I’m working on bigger things? What’s an idea for today, for right now?”
Stobbe discussed the importance of encouraging his students to make every day “a reason for success.”
“And that’s what they do.”
A challenging two years
The award and celebration come on the heels of a difficult two years for Stobbe.
In September 2020, he lost his wife, Geena, of 34 years, to a neurological disease called progressive supranuclear palsy.
A year later, he started to lose his sight.
At 2 years old, Stobbe began to lose vision in one eye after a rock flew into the center of his eye one day when his father was mowing the lawn. That eye was later replaced with a prosthetic.
Then in September 2021, Stobbe was diagnosed with optical melanoma. After multiple surgeries, he’s lost most of his sight in his remaining eye.
He now uses a high-powered magnifying glass to see.
But that hasn’t quelled his passion for all things digital journalism, Insco said, who has kept up with him in the years since graduating. She said she once met with Stobbe the day after new features had rolled out on Instagram.
“I said, ‘Stobbe, have you seen the Instagram update?’ And he said, ‘No, what are you talking about?’ And pulled out his magnifying glass and was holding my phone, you know, just an inch away from his eye,” she said. “He still wants to be culturally relevant and know what is happening in the social media world so that he can use it as a communications tool.”
Reflecting on the O’Malley Award and the outpouring of love, Stobbe gave his students and colleagues all the credit.
“All of this is a result of them deciding that the impossible is possible even at a little tiny little school,” Stobbe said. “It’s really what an individual can do when the individual decides that it’s possible, and I’ve been honored to be with those students who choose that with me.”
The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.
