Can you fill these shoes?

Byline: Mark Johnson The Register-Guard

Has it been 10 years already? That's what we keep asking ourselves as we look ahead to building the 20Below News Team for the 2003-04 school year.

We've covered a lot of ground since that first team was launched in 1994. We've tackled serious topics (AIDS, addictions, war, sex, violence) and we've been playful (rock 'n' roll, teen dreams, fashion, cheap thrills, influential movies). Most of all, we've had fun along the way.

Do you have your own ideas of what issues teens in Lane County are concerned about?

Would you like to express yourself as a 20Below writer, illustrator or photographer next school year? Are you that diamond in the rough ready to shine for our 10th anniversary? Here's how to apply:

To become a 20Below writer

Show us your personality.

First, write a one- to two-page letter - please type it or print it from a computer - telling us about yourself and why you think you'd be a great addition to the 20Below News Team. And prove to us that you're a regular 20Below reader.

At the top of the first page, put your name, your current grade and age, the name of your current school (and where you'll be going to school in the fall, if different), your address, telephone number and an e-mail address where we can reach you.

Then, write a great, suitable-for-publication 20Below story in three typed, double-spaced pages (or fewer). It could be a column, an essay, a news story - whatever you think would be a good fit for 20Below.

It can be in the first person, but it doesn't have to be. We want your teen-age perspective. The work should, in some way, enlighten readers on what it's like to be a teen in Lane County.

Finally, on a separate sheet of paper, give us five good story ideas that you would like to write for 20Below. Tell us, in a single sentence, why you think each idea would appeal to readers.

To be an illustrator or photographer

We are looking for cartoonists and illustrators who can draw page-anchoring illustrations, as well as photographers who can shoot interesting and professional pictures to accompany stories.

Write a one-page letter - please type it or print it from a computer - telling us about yourself and why you think you'd be a great addition to the 20Below News Team.

At the top of the first page, put your name, your current grade and age, the name of your current school (and where you'll be going to school in the fall, if different), your address, your telephone number and an e-mail address where we can reach you.

Include a portfolio of at least five examples of your work (color or black-and-white), with your name and address on the back of each sample.

Send color copies, preferably, or include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you'd like your original photos or drawings returned.

Where to send stuff

Here's where to send your application, whichever job you're applying for: Name of Job You're Applying for Goes Here, 20Below, The Register-Guard, P.O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440.

Applications also may be delivered to the front desk in the lobby at The Register-Guard, 3500 Chad Drive. (Go to Costco on Coburg Road and head east on Chad Drive. We're the last building on the right.)

All applications must arrive at The Register-Guard by 5 p.m. Friday, May 2. That deadline is final. Questions? Contact Features Editor Mark Johnson, preferably by e-mail, at mjohnson@ guardnet.com. You also may call him at 338-2468.

TEENS WANTED

What: 2003-04 20Below News Team application

Positions open: Teen writers, illustrators and photographers

Who's eligible: Young people who'll be at least freshmen in high school and no older than 20 this fall

Deadline: 5 p.m. Friday, May 2

CAPTION(S):

Carly Sertic / 20Below artist