Students discover more than journalism

by Meghan Rimol and Sierra Baldwin
Presidency and the Press

Students that attended the Presidency and the Press conference this week will take much more than politics and journalism back to their high schools.

Throughout the last five days, students have attended numerous workshops and listened to a variety of guest speakers to learn about the relationship between the media and public figures. Through these experiences, they gained new skills and insight into the political process.

However, that is not all that they learned.

Students learned valuable life lessons, including how to make new friends, how to use new technology, and how to survive on just three hours of sleep.

Because the students were required to stay overnight at the conference, they quickly discovered the challenges of adjusting to life within a dorm. “You should get to the shower first in the girl’s dorm,” said Laurel Kolacny.

Living in a dorm also means that there is no such thing as a home-cooked meal—cafeteria food is the only option. For many, this has caused some major changes in eating habits. “People in New Hampshire put nacho cheese sauce on their pasta, and I learned that it is possible to eat a decent breakfast in ten minutes,” said Gianna Cacciatore.

Along with not being around to prepare home-cooked meals, there were no parents to set bedtimes. For some, this resulted in droopy eyes and lots of yawns the next morning. “Get some sleep if you’re going to be watching state VIP’s,” said Will Welch.

During the conference, students also met new people from all over the country, and discovered how to form bonds. “When you’re meeting new people, the best thing you can do to make friends is to be as obnoxious as possible,” said Sarah Morrow.

“I’ve learned that there are a whole bunch of cool people out there, you just have to go find them,” said Helen Kaye.

Whether a student simply learned how to play a new card game or learned how to write a news article, each participant in the conference now has a unique lesson to bring back home.

“I learned that even though we all come from all over the nation, we all have the same drive and are working together to succeed,” said Joshuwa Deal.