Over the summer, I attended the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington D.C. I fulfilled more dreams than I could count: I toured the Wall Street Journal, met a Pulitzer Prize award-winning photojournalist and learned from an investigative reporter from the New York Times. Despite these experiences, what I remember most is the people I met and the meaningful connections I formed.

One student journalist from each state was selected for this conference, meaning I have the unique privilege of knowing someone from every state in America. These relationships are not something I take lightly; two people living on opposite sides of the country have completely different perspectives. Being exposed to different lifestyles and people can only make one better.

This conference threw complete strangers together for an entire week in the nation’s capital. We ate together, rode the bus together and learned together.

Looking back, my trip surely could’ve been a disaster. What if everyone hated the way I dressed? What if people thought I talked funny? What if I couldn’t get along with anybody?

Only one of those came true–people did find my Illinois accent to be hilarious. But the rest of my fears were unfounded because I ended up meeting an intelligent, kind and supportive group of journalists.

I thought I would learn from professional journalists and speakers at this conference, and I did. But my most valuable lessons came from talking to these enlightened peers who had different life experiences than I did.

I am a better, more well-rounded person because of the week I spent with one person from each state. I wouldn’t trade a moment in Washington D.C. for anything.

Many people assume I went on this trip, spent a glorious week making new friends then came back to my isolated state-wide bubble. But journalists are masters of communication, and that is what I continue to do.

My fellow Free Spirit Alumni have conversations every day. We play each other in fantasy football and remind each other to optimize our lineups, we send each other our college essays and school articles for editing.
We even simultaneously watch television debates and analyze politicians in real-time.

I will never forget riding the bus around the city with Bella from California, dancing on a boat with Shannon from Massachusetts, touring the World War II Memorial with Amelia from Maryland, arguing about sports with John from Alaska, watching the Stanley Cup finals with Thijs from North Dakota and gossiping in the hotel with Claire from Oregon.

These memories will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I’m ready to jump into the future with this group of people. Our connection will never dwindle because we know the relationships we formed are too valuable to be lost due to distance. So in the meantime, our group chat will stay active until we can meet again.