In the journalism lab in room 129, there’s a row of awards with one name in common: Cameron Levasseur.  While some step into the Anchor classroom looking to fulfill a fine arts credits, Cameron saw it as the start of a journalism career. 

Levasseur, class of 2021, was a part of The Anchor his junior and senior years of high school, and then went on to major in journalism at Quinnipiac University, where, in his second year, he is the sports editor of The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Quinnipiac University. 

Levasseur recently had the opportunity to cover a story of a lifetime. Levasseur traveled with the Quinnipiac hockey team to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Florida. On Saturday, April 8 the Quinnipiac Bobcats beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers with an overtime goal to win their first Division I national hockey championship. Alongside the nation’s top sports reporters, Levasseur was there to cover the historic story.

Being the sports editor for a Division I team is a bigger responsibility than just writing game recaps. “Cam does everything: he is at every game, every press conference,” Quinnipiac Associate Director of Creative Content, Cameron Boon said. “He’s traveled from Harvard to UMaine to Bridgeport to Tampa to Lake Placid, and a few more.”

Levasseur believes you need to start young when you are looking to be a journalist. “I definitely do not think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for my experiences at Presque Isle High School,” Levasseur said. “It gave me such a head start to kind of lead me into what I’m doing here, and it let me learn how things are supposed to be done.” 

When covering a team, a sports writer has to earn the respect of the coaches and players. “Cameron quickly became one of my favorites just because of the way he carries himself around. Yes, he is still a sophomore and a college boy, but the way he carries himself in a press box – you just don’t see it a lot at his age,” Boon said. “It’s so very cool to see, and he has definitely earned some respect and praise from the team.”

Levasseur explained the level of work he put into the national championship story. “I had the article prepped during the second period, and I wrote while the game was going on, so I had it pretty much done when the game was over,” he said. “And then I wrapped it up after we finished the press conferences, and then had it posted probably about an hour after the game was over.” 

Student journalism can come with its challenges and downfalls but the experiences that come with it can be described as incredible. “The experiences that you get are honestly second to none,” said Boon. “Being a sports journalist is really good for not only the students but also the athletes, because it’s a recognizable face, it’s someone the athletes often know outside of their sports.” 

Levasseur feels like really nothing could top this, “It was just unbelievable, like the whole Frozen Four week was crazy. I just kept finding myself thinking, am I really here? It’s like a once in a lifetime experience to a) be there to cover something like that, and b) to see Quinnipiac win it and be around the guys in the locker room and the press conferences after.” 

In the journalism lab at PIHS, Anchor adviser Marcie Young has continued adding framed stories from Cameron’s collegiate writing career. “It’s a PIHS faculty thing: once you’re our student, you’re always ours,” Young said. “I’m in awe of Cameron’s drive, curiosity and high IQ for sports and sports writing, It was awesome to get to work with him as an Anchor staffer, and it’s even more rewarding to see where his passion for journalism continues to take him.”