Two days ago, I walked into my Journalism and Society class to take a test, but little did I know, that the Temple Association for Black Journalists was holding their annual networking conference later that night. I was by no means prepared for this.
I got on the bus that day to take the test and that's it. No notepad, no pen, (it was a Scantron test, for the record,) no dress shirt and no tie. Not to mention I had no idea how to conduct myself at a networking conference. Do I bring resumes? Should I have business cards? How should I act? With all of these thoughts rushing through my mind, I took my test. Definitely a recipe for success.
In my opinion though, the test wasn't that bad. There were a couple of confusing questions, including one where I answered that Tyler School students sent 12 pizzas to Ann Weaver Hart's office. But, it did seem like a likely possibility. After all, everyone loves pizza.
Knowing my luck, I finished the test at 1:42 p.m. For those who are unaware of the shuttle times, they leave main campus on the 40's. So, I missed it by two minutes. In retrospect, I really should not have put as much thought as I did on that pizza answer. At this point, I'm standing around outside with absolutely nothing to do. For an entire hour. But then, I remembered something very useful. The Tech Center, located a full 30 seconds from where I currently stood, has a wide variety of comfortable chairs to sit in. With the alarm set on the iPod, I took a nap. Best power nap in recent memory.
Once I got on the 2:40 p.m. bus and got back to Ambler around 3:30 p.m., I had another revelation. The conference is from 6-8 p.m., and the only bus that would get me there in time is the 4:30 bus. With an hour left to figure out my gameplan, I chose to run to the Learning Center and seek out Lauren Williams.
After listening to a multitude of advice, I ran back to my room and started to get ready. I threw on my business casual attire and headed to the bus. Also, it should be noted that during my hour frenzy of getting ready, I got my friend Buford to come down with me for a quick dinner at Johnson and Hardwick before I went to the conference.
Once there, we ate and then went our separate ways. I didn't see him again for the rest of the night, except for this one moment when he apparently missed the bus and tried to get into Annenburg Hall, but the card swipe would not let him in.
But, to shift back to the true focus of this entry, it's time I discuss the conference itself.
Shaking off the awkwardness and nerves, we were split into smaller groups and spoke with a professional of some sort. My group was paired up with Karen Turner, a professor who works in Temple's Journalism department. As a whole, there was a pretty good discussion in which she gave us all various tips and advice that would help us to advance in the field. Of these, a common theme was to "get involved with everything." Considering that companies are laying off single-skill employees left and right, this is definitely one tip that I"m taking to heart.
After this, we had a quick snack session and began our individual networking. I started off speaking with Jim MacMillan, a Pulitzer-winning visual journalist, university educator and new media consultant based in Philadelphia. Although our meeting was brief, Jim was a pleasure to talk to and he is definitely an individual I plan on contacting in the very near future.
I then moved onto another individual, Phil Beck, the president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and an experienced freelancer/editor. I spoke with Beck for at least an hour and it was truly a great experience. It really seemed like there was a connection, which made the conversation a lot of fun. Beck would tell stories about bumping into then-President Jimmy Carter and it was exciting to be able to return with stories of my own, like covering the Presidential Inauguration.
This conversation would go on and on until the last few stragglers headed out into the brisk Philadelphia night. I said my goodbyes and made my way over to the bus stop, where I ended up waiting for about a half hour before the next shuttle arrived. Eventually, I got back to the dorms around 10:15 p.m. and then called it a night. It really doesn't matter whether the individuals I met can help me out in my career, in the end, they all turned out to be quite interesting individuals with good stories to tell. An experience like this is something that I'll always be able to carry with me, and that's the real prize here.
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We know the limits of our abilities, but only to an extent. In some cases, we’re introduced to new experiences that allow us to see that we can push ourselves further than we even before imagined. These experiences can leave us with a whole new sense of enlightenment and the feeling is simply incredible. As lame as it may be, I couldn’t help but use that for my title this time around. With the true sequel to “the Fast and the Furious” coming out April 3rd, I felt compelled to just chill and watch the original last night. I’ve finally got some free time, so I figured I might as well recap the rest of my vacation in the Summit. If you recall, I mentioned that Clarks Summit was a really fun, happening place. If my sarcasm wasn’t blunt enough before, allow me to reiterate: it’s not an exciting town at all. This year, Spring Break is not Cancun, Aruba or the Bahamas. Trust me, if I had the money to make that happen, I would, but who wants an island in the Caribbean when you can have the jam-packed city of Clarks Summit at your disposal? Sometimes in life all we need is a little bit of inspiration from a role model that can help steer us along on our path. Well, in one of my Journalism and Society classes this past week, we had a former Temple student named Donnell Jackson speak to us. After graduating in 2006, he went on to work for various television stations and will take up a job in New Orleans as the lead producer of a news program down there. As previously mentioned on the homepage, I'm a college student. What I didn't specify is that I come from a little town two hours north and I'm now taking classes in a big city atmosphere in Philly. Yup, quite a change, I know. So, with that in mind, there's definitely going to be some memorable moments. Fun, crazy, scary, interesting, disturbing, eye-opening...the list can go on forever. Let's hope my fingers can handle the typing. |
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