Over 6,000 high school student journalists from around the country gathered together to learn. Taking place in Chicago, Illinois, the 2018 JEA/NSPA Fall Convention received a high attendance. The Newsstreak staff was just one of multiple high schools across the nation who attended the convention.

In the past, the staff has flown across the country to California and Washington, driven down the east coast to Florida and Texas. Each trip consisted of pre-convention workshops, full-on tour days and class sessions. As for this year,  26 Newsstreak staff members attended the convention, along with Newsstreak adviser Valerie Kibler and broadcasting adviser Emilee Hussack. With a big group and a big city, the staff decided to skip out on the pre-convention workshops and instead take on a full tour day.

“You get to see a whole other world of what other schools are doing. You get really good ideas and it’s refreshing and invigorating,” Hussack said. “The energy and excitement about all things journalism at the conventions is exciting.”

Each convention holds multiple class sessions created for different publication staffs: newspaper, yearbook, literary magazine, news magazine, broadcasting, online news and more. Newsstreak Editor-in-Chief Owen Marshall decided to hone in on leadership skills and touch base with his weak points across other journalism strands.

“In the past, I’ve done a lot of sports focused sessions because that’s what I’m interested in personally, but this year I attacked my weak points by going to [different] sessions. I’m an Editor-in-Chief, so I want to do more staff leading and keeping everyone motivated,” Marshall said.

First-year staff member Maya Waya Waid decided to attend the convention in hopes of advancing her design skills, as she became a page editor within two months of joining Newsstreak. Waid signed up for sessions that focused on design, sports writing, opinion writing tips and interviewing. Before attending the convention, Waid also took part in the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Media Championships, which included sessions for different journalism strands at the state level.

“I felt like [VHSL Media Championships] was a mini exposure to what Chicago would be like. It was really eye-opening itself… The workshops were really interesting to hear from all of these different people, not even just the teachers., the students have experiences too,” Waid said.

The trip has given the staff a different learning experience, one that they wouldn’t find in any ordinary classroom.

“You’re learning, but it’s in a different environment, and I think it’s pretty fun to be involved in the bigger conference atmosphere. You’re also speaking to professionals,” Marshall said. “I’ve talked to people from ESPN and a bunch of other crazy places I wouldn’t have a chance to talk to if it weren’t for the conventions.”