This past summer I was urged by my father to register for the National Association Black Journalists Convention that was coming up. On a bright, hot, July day, I was standing outside of the Gaylord Palms Hotel anxious to walk in to start.
This year’s NABJ Convention was conveniently held in Orlando this year, neatly located just minutes from Disney and 45 minutes from UCF. While most of us were on summer vacation, working or taking classes, my friends Robert, Josh, and I decided to take a stab at checking out the convention here. I wish there was enough space to completely wrap up this experience, and I wish those four days hadn’t flown by so quickly. In just a short time, I was able to meet a couple of “big wigs” in the journalism industry, befriend peers around the country from other NABJ chapters, listen to special guests weigh in social and political issues, and learn a thing or two about the real world.
I remember on the ride over the first day of Conference, we’d all talked about whom we wanted to meet and what we wanted to learn. Rob and Josh were more sports and broadcast oriented and looked forward to the ESPN task force meetings, while I focused on news and entertainment. Most days included running around all day, getting acquainted with the hotel and what was going on, and attending workshops to better our skills; there was anything and everything to learn. If you wanted to have a better presence on camera, there was a task force for that. If you wanted to learn better networking skills, there was a workshop to explore or someone to strike up a conversation about the matter. I can’t stress enough that anyone you talked to was a potential connection. Even just walking around, you could tell that the environment wasn’t uptight or intimidating; everyone was there to be helpful and friendly. At the end of the day, you’d probably be participating in fun activities with them too, might as well get comfortable.
An unexpected highlight was hearing Jamele Hill speak at the ESPN breakfast about working with your strengths and weaknesses and a handful of panels concerning the Travon Martin case, one in which included Martin’s family weighing in on how the media handled the controversial case. A funny highlight was meeting Journalist of the Year winner, Roland Martin and cracking jokes with him every time I saw him. Then, there was accidentally running into CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux at a sushi restaurant and then hearing I missed Don Lemon... I can’t confirm or deny if I was breathing or not when that happened.
Some of my best experiences at the NABJ Conventionwas the fact that I was inevitably surrounding myself with people who were all chasing the same dream as me. It was a huge learning experience. Now I know those tedious things to do when I’m seriously looking for a job one day: investing in those business cards and to getting over the shyness as soon as I step out of the car, for one. You NEVER know who you’re going to meet or what companies are going to be at the internship fair. I know now that I’ve met a lot of people that I could call my friends after bonding for four days, and also friends that are there to share knowledge and be in your network one day.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to go to the NABJ conference each year. Yes, it’ll be a little hole in your pocket, but the value of the information and experience you’re going to get is priceless. As minority student journalists, it’s even more important now to get out there to build those connections and to sharpen our skills we need to better our passions. Next year’s convention is in Boston, so I hope to see everyone there. It’s going to be a whirlwind.
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