On the morning of June 18, 2016, 51 rising seniors, one from each state and the District of Columbia, began to travel to Washington D.C. for the Al Neuharth Free Spirit journalism conference. Many of us did not know each other personally, but we did know one thing: we had a strong passion for journalism, investigative reporting, and the world of news. Over the course of the next few days we would spend an immense amount of time with each other, ultimately become one big family, meet more than a few motivational people along the way, and be thrown into a world of journalism that we could only dream of. The conference aims to not only improve and inspire high school journalism all across the nation, but to introduce them to famous journalists and their experiences.
It’s been over two weeks since the Al Neuharth Free Spirit journalism conference has ended, and each day I still wake up feeling as if a part of my soul is missing because I am no longer surrounded by 50 other talented, astounding high school journalists. Being around so many other journalism students instilled a newfound passion in me. A drive to not just be a better journalist, but to make my high school newspaper that much better. In some ways I am still in denial that the conference is over, and that one day I will wake up in room 506 of the Double Tree on Rhode Island avenue with my roommate from Kansas in the other bed across the room, and two boys from Arkansas and Florida right across the hall ready to walk downstairs and grab some sub-par hotel breakfast. However, I am slowly beginning to realize that the 5-day “fantasy” I experienced may never be the same again, and that it is my duty to not just “pass the word” about the conference or not waste the newfound information and techniques I have learned, but that it is also my job to lead a new era of journalism in high schools. Instill the same passion I have in the kids younger than me that are looking to be on the school paper. As our Arkansas representative Jacob DeFay puts it, “I want an emotional refund.” The 5 days I spent in D.C. were the most action-packed, breathtaking days I have experienced in my life so far.
When my fellow 51 free spirits and I first met we didn’t know we had anything in common except a love for journalism. We had briefly talked over social media but meeting in person made us that much closer of friends, and in just a few short hours, we were all laughing over super off-topic answers during “Newsmania” and telling each other the struggles we all faced with our administration, and even better, our staff. From that first night I knew that this was no ordinary conference, this would be life-changing. No not just life changing, it would be phenomenal, and even better than phenomenal, it would be astonishing.
Now, as an outsider reading this article you may be thinking “they probably just sat in conferences all day taking notes.” Well that may be true, but these weren’t any normal conferences. We played with virtual reality simulators, talked to Pulitzer Prize winners, people who survived the Freedom Rides, press secretary’s that served in the White House, and even Chris Berman (who we eventually inducted into our graduating class). Along with conferences, we went on a walking tour of just about every monument in D.C. each night (thank you Alix and Kevin), did a simulation in a District court, toured USA Today, watched a taping of Meet the Press with Chuck Todd and went on a guided tour through the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each speaker and each experience was as breathtaking as the previous and compelling as the next.
Although all of our days were jam packed with so many structured activities that we may have reached an entirely new experience of sleep deprivation we were able to have a little bit of fun. One day our bus broke down and we had to play “Close-Up Idol” to see who could sing the best (props to Peter for being the only boy on his team), had free time in the Newseum to go exploring and see whatever exhibits we wanted, and went on a Potomac river boat cruise. We even managed to squeeze in enough time to go on a run to Ben and Jerry’s on our last night in D.C.
As memorable as the speakers and adventures at this conference were, I will miss the other 50 free spirits most of all. I had a pretty great roommate who stayed up with me discussing anything and everything that came to our minds. One day we even stayed up until about 2 a.m. discussing the layouts of our papers and what we could change to make them better. The representative from Utah showed me that news can come in multiple forms, and that writing is not the only interesting way to display information. The representative from Nevada explaining to me just how cool a rodeo is, and how big of a deal they are. And last but not least, the representatives from New Mexico, Florida, and Connecticut who had shared a bond with me since birth although we didn’t know it. Needless to say, the conference was an eye-opener. The term “Free Spirit” may be general, but we were able to take it to a whole new level. I did not truly understand the meaning of a “Free Spirit” until I had left the conference.
As our Kansas representative, my roommate, and class representative Adam Cole said once before, “Do not waste this opportunity.” Always remember, Free Spirits Dream, Dare, and Do, and there’s a little S.O.B. inside all of us that is ready to be the future of journalism. We may be upset that we are no longer with each other, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing great things.