Nine Bronx River Newspaper staff members had a chance to attend the Journalism Education Association national conference in Philadelphia in November. The students, Disobeni Rojas, Teagan Connolly, Franklin Sosa, Zoe Reyes, Jomayra Amparo, Briana Colon, Hawaou Kobeogo, Hashan Chowdhury and Cesar Jimenez, took an early morning Amtrak train from NYC to Philadelphia on Nov. 8 and returned the following evening. They share tales from their jam-packed trip below:
A chance to meet other young journalists
Disobeni Rojas, Teagan Connolly
Imagine you get the opportunity to travel to another state to represent your school and to learn how to be better at your newspaper position; how would you feel? Excited and nervous? That’s how we felt when arrived in Philadelphia just before noon, walked to the conference center, collected our badges and headed straight to the workshops.
One of the workshops, titled “Journalism Beyond High School,” focused on how to turn your interest in journalism into careers. Three students from Penn State — Abby Chachoute, Lucy Bickel, and Sydney Stewart — shared their personal stories and gave insights on how to find engaging careers.
“Seek opportunities and pursue them even if they are just thoughts,” Sydney said.
After taking in some conferences, the students headed to the trade show where they got the chance to talk to representatives from colleges and connect with other journalism students from around the country. After that, they attended more conferences and chatted with other students.
Rebecca Weiss, a senior at Lake Braddock in Virginia, is a podcast journalist. She covers topics such as sports, student life and outside events. “We divide the class into different beats,” she said.
As a podcast journalist she has developed new types of skills regarding technology and interviews. She enjoys her community and the support it offers. “I now look forward to going to school in the morning, the communicative aspect of it,” she said.
New experiences lead to new friends
Briana Colon
While I was getting ready to travel to Philadelphia on a journalism trip, my body was filled with angst and jumpy nerves. As much as I was excited, there was also a pang of dread and anxiety; what if things went wrong? What was I supposed to do? Where was I supposed to go? Despite all these worries, I still woke up bright and early the next morning and made my way to our site of departure in front of the school.
Although I was traveling with people I knew, I still felt kind of alone. There was small talk here and there, but there was no stable conversation that I considered friendship-worthy. That is, until we made our way to the train station. It all started with an email; all of a sudden, I didn’t feel so alone anymore. Throughout the commute, Hawaou, Hashan and I were having a grand old time. Even though I missed my best friend back home, they made me feel comfortable.
Throughout the trip, we all hung out and had tons of fun. Although some of the conferences during the trip were tiresome, I always had them to turn to for comfort. Even after all of the work time, we all spent our free time hanging out at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Philadelphia.
I guess one thing that I learned in those two short days was that putting yourself out there doesn’t always result in rejection. Even though it may seem scary, as long as you remain genuine, you will find people that want to be around the real you. You don’t have to act like someone else or put on a facade to gain new friends. As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” and taking that shot was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Students explore Philly on foot
Zoe Reyes
After a tiring day of running around from conference to conference and collecting freebies from the trade show on Friday, we finally found time to step outside and enjoy Philadelphia. We started with a visit to Bassetts Ice Cream in Reading Terminal Market across the street from the Marriott Hotel.
Jomayra Amparo, one of the students on the trip, said, “They gave very hefty scoops; it was delightful.”
Then we began the 1.4-mile hike to the Rocky Statue, based on the famous “Rocky” movies. We were starting to feel exhausted but as we got closer and started seeing the Rocky Banners, we picked up the pace.
“It wasn’t as bad as we thought,” said Teagan Connolly, another student on the trip. “It wasn’t a bad distance and it was fun chatting along the way. And seeing the ‘Rocky Run’ banners along the way made it exciting for everyone.”
Upon finally arriving at the site, we took photos of the statue and then ran up the stairs. Going up the stairs proved tiring but in the end, we felt like we’d accomplished something. We posed for more pictures and then walked back to the hotel to get ready for the next day.
Franklin Sosas
On the second day of the trip, the students visited Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. During the visit, students also visited the building where Congress used to meet. This building has life-sized portraits of King Louis and Marie Antoinette, which were gifted to America by France. Then we headed back to to hotel to pick up our bags and walked, bags in hand, to the Amtrak Station.
