Four Bronx River News staff members were selected to attend the Columbia’s Scholastic Journalism Press Conference this school year. The students: Sanaaya Lopez , Social Media Writer/Photographer; Christi-Alexis Cisse, Staff Writer; Elliot Lima, Staff Writer; and me, Aliyah Ali,  Staff Writer, took the subway and a city bus to get from Lehman Campus in the Bronx to Columbia University in Manhattan.

After we registered at the school, we mapped out the workshops we wanted to hear. Just like in college, the journalism workshops were spread across the campus,  so we had to rush from one workshop to the next to get to ‘”class” on time.

  During the workshops, we took notes and asked questions as professional journalists shared tips on creativity, photography, social media and reporting.  Afterwards, we made time to visit the campus book store and talk to students about college life. 

Here’s what what one student, Anoushka, a sophomore, shared:

What is your major and minor?  

My major would be English lit and my minor would be economics. 

What are your favorite classes here at Columbia university?

My favorite subjects would have to be when I took screen survivallence performance and the first year writing since I’m a Barnard student. This semester my favorite subject would have to be the writer’s process where I get to learn more about the deepened writing techniques and performance. 

How would you describe your transition from high school to college?

The hardest part was transitioning from California to New York but yes, academically there is more writing and reading in college then I did in high school. So yeah the transition is very difficult in some terms.