In case you didn’t hear the scream that nine Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) students let out on Sunday morning, Mar. 1, or didn’t read it elsewhere in this paper, the Independent won second place at the 25th annual Associated Collegiate Press National College Journalism Convention (that’s a mouthful!), which was held in San Diego, Cal. this year. Every year, staff members of the paper attend this convention: to learn, to network and yes, to have fun. Last year, a group of us went to the convention in San Francisco. We didn’t win any awards last year, but I think that some of the things we learned helped us to make the paper better, which enabled us to win an award this year.
We had a great time in San Francisco, and we had a great time in San Diego. The sun was wonderful. The scenery was great. I even went to the beach, and I am not a water/sand type of person. The sunset was fantastic. The food was good. As a cook, I’m really picky, but the food was good. Unfortunately, I was also in a partial cast for my ankle and foot. This did hinder my exploration some, but my fellow travelers were kind enough to procure a wheelchair for me on Saturday, so that evening’s diversions became much easier. I’m sure that there were several people who enjoyed the opportunity to push me around for once! Probably my favorite part of the trip was the sun, warmth and the hot tub!
The seminars that people attended were very diverse, with topics such as: managing a paper, sports writing, writing headlines, blogging, Web design and advertising. Some of the seminars could have had better descriptions in the brochure. I attended one session that probably should have been listed for advisors or teachers, but I still learned something from it. Talking with other newspaper people from around the country, seeing how they deal with problems, as well as hearing about their victories were inspiring.
It is a huge thrill for me that the paper won this award. It verifies all the time that I spend down in “the dungeon” helping it to be. Anyone who knows me, knows that if it is a weekday and I’m not in class or rehearsal, I can be found in the Independent office. In fact, there are many times that you can find me there even on the weekend. Sometimes, I’m in the office on Sundays for over eight hours, trying to make sure that things are spelled correctly, or that there is enough white space between articles. Sometimes, there isn’t anything that I can do about things that go wrong, but I can sure try to make it better than the issue before. Everyone who works for this paper works very hard and is very serious about the work they do. After all, our names go on the finished product, and believe me, we hear when things go wrong.
How is this diversional, in any way? Well, when there are things that you find yourself doing, despite what other people tell you that you should be doing, you are doing something diversional. If I’m writing a column when I should be doing, say my geology homework, I’m being diverted from what I should be doing. I know that I’ll get my homework done, but I would rather be working on the paper. I think everyone on staff can agree that there are times that we really need to be somewhere else, doing something else, but we stay in the office, or out on assignment because we enjoy working together to make a product that we can be proud of. We don’t always succeed, but we learn from our mistakes. This year, hopefully, those of us who went will be able to teach those who didn’t what we learned, so that next year we can be even better. Isn’t that what life in general is about? Learning from what you do now, so that next time it is better. We are always looking for people to help us, to join our team, to become part of our family. If you are interested in learning more about the diversional things that go on at the paper, please come and visit us in room E-049, or come to one of our meetings; they are held every Tues. during activity hour, 1:40 p.m.-2:40p.m. in room F-203. Who knows, maybe you’ll get to join the fun and learning experience on our next trip and be proud to be part of a winning team!