By: Avery Smith, Editorial Assistant

My second day at the convention was even better than the first day. All of the workshops that I sat in were very insightful and engaging. The convention started at 9:00am, which was a little hard for me to wake up to. However, once I sat in on my first workshop, the inspiration of the presentation definitely woke me up. The four workshops provided valuable advice on opinion writing, ethics in photojournalism, crime and punishment reporting, and perseverance in a professional environment.

After those workshops were over, I went to the keynote speaker. This year, the convention had invited former Washington Post investigative reporter, Bob Woodward to speak. Woodward covered the Watergate scandal, which led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation from office. Woodward spoke on his time as a reporter and answered the audience’s questions. I was amazed with Woodward’s impact and longevity in the investigating field.

The third day was as rewarding as the second day. The two workshops that I attended were interesting since they discussed the use of first amendment rights in a news outlet and gave advice on being a freelance photographer or journalist. After the workshops were over, I went to the keynote  that was presented by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden webchat. Snowden discussed his reasoning for leaking classified information to the public and answered the students’s questions; there were a lot of them.

When Snowden finished speaking at noon, my friends and I decided to visit the Newseum. This museum was unlike any other museum that I’ve seen before. They had touch-screen interactive displays with real time percentages of the 2016 presidential campaign. They also had a wall of front-page headlines featuring different newspaper’s powerful responses to the 9/11 attacks. We spent the most of our time watching the mini-movies that showed timeline clips of the decades in America and a documentary that explored the news reporting of the 9/11 attacks.

This convention has been a rewarding experience for me. I have learned so much from the presenters about their crafts and their experiences. Exploring the city of D.C. was also special for me as well. To see the White House and the Washington Monument for the first time was astonishing. D.C. has a variety of different cultures around the city; it was amazing to see the vast diversity in the area. One day, as a presenter, I hope to have a workshop of my own as a future journalist and give advice to the young journalists attending the convention.