We love music! Especially love songs. Do you? One of the fun events that NCRA is hosting on behalf of the NCRA Student-Teacher Committee for Court Reporting & Captioning Week is Steno Karaoke. Join us for “Students Love Steno” on Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. Eastern. The event is open to everyone, but prior registration is required.
February is also the love month. So it’s the perfect time! Yes, “Students Love Steno” Karaoke is back this year by popular demand. Margary Rogers, RPR, CRI, an official from Washington, D.C., and member of the NCRA Board of Directors, created Steno Karaoke and hosted the first event in December 2020 during the holidays when she realized that there were so many reporters home alone without the ability to connect with family during the COVID pandemic.
What is Steno Karaoke?
Steno writers write their favorite love songs on their steno machines in realtime as they share their software realtime screens and steno outlines with all attendees at the Zoom event. This year we have eight Steno Karaoke writers participating as writers for this event. We have CART captioners, freelance and official reporters, as well as students and new professional reporters. These participants are so excited to show their skills in a loving way as they spread the love of steno and inspire students to write in realtime with confidence. Students will learn new phrases and some CART captioner parentheticals and features.
In addition to the Steno Karaoke writers, two special guest speakers will join the event. Isaiah Roberts, RPR, will speak about his experience captioning at Coachella, and Thomas Herman will speak about how to become a CART captioner, including what equipment and software are needed, dictionary, set up, etc.
Steno Karaoke is a fun way to learn how to write in realtime, because love songs can be relaxing, comforting, and sometimes easier to write to. Steno Karaoke has also enlightened stenographers and students because they can practice to something other than dictation. They can write to their favorite songs or challenge themselves to write to fast songs and add words to their dictionaries that they might not otherwise would have in them. This event is also great for those students who would like to become CART captioners and confidently provide text from the feeds to clients when they graduate from school.
All are welcome to attend this event. Register by scanning the QR code in the flyer below.
“Writing to music was so much fun,” said one student who attended last year. “I enjoyed challenging myself with writing along to all the songs and conversation in a low-pressure way throughout the evening. I also realized that I liked seeing the social aspect of Steno Karaoke. Another thing I liked seeing was that one of the participants writing was a student who is still in theory. It’s good to know that one doesn’t have to be an experienced stenographer to participate as one of the karaoke writers. Overall, Steno Karaoke was so much fun. I highly recommend it!” she added.
See the eight Steno Karaoke writers who will be hosting this event:
- Miriam Meneely, student @ 160 wpm, Simply Steno
- Mikayela Robbins, freelance reporter | “All of Me” by John Legend
- Chris DeGrazio, freelance reporter | “Soulmate” by Lizzo
- Juanita Price, RPR, official/CART captioner | “Made for Me” by Muni Long
- Lydia Rivera, student @ 60 wpm, College of Court Reporting | “You’re My Love” by Candy Coated Dreams
- Thomas Herman, CART captioner, Owner of Caption Nerds, LLC. | ”Keep Us Connected” by Subpace Rhapsody, from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
- Margary Rogers, RPR, CRI, official reporter | “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker
- Sara Necciai, official reporter | “Sold” by John Michael Montgomery (Sara will be accompanied by her singer/songwriter/musician husband Brandon Payne. He goes by the name Thatpaynefulmusic on social media.)
There will also be prizes and giveaways for the student reporters from the generous sponsors.
If you would like to support this event and donate prizes for the students, email Margary Rogers at mfrogers1@gmail.com a description of your gift by Feb. 7. Last year 15 steno businesses and steno supporters donated gifts and prizes for students.
