From the category archives:
So to my surprise and probably to every other photographer at this year’s convention, there are hardly any sessions on photography.
It’s probably because, the judges are the photography teachers and they will be judging during all the sessions, but still… come on man, I feel left out.
It’s nice to get out of town and check out yearbooks that I have heard about but have never seen.
So many times I hear about a book or see it as an award winner, but it’s nice to see the actual book and see why it received that award.
When the tour was done, we were starving. So we walked down to Red Robin to eat. There was a lot of kids from the convention there, it was pretty neat.
When we finished eating, we went to the convention center so that we could register. We had to play Whamboozal!!! Most of us had played last year in Phoenix, so we were pretty excited to play again. It’s always a lot of fun.
I ate breakfast today for the first time in about six months, and boy, am I glad I did. After a tasty blueberry muffin and six-ounce glass of apple juice, my comrades and I embarked on a four-hour tour, to visit Multnoma Falls and the rest of Portland’s beautiful natural surroundings. We were very lucky to have gotten the tour; my adviser scheduled it a mere 18 hours or so in advance. Thank you, Martin.
The second we all stepped on to that tour bus, a horrible stench that I’m not even going to try and describe overcame us. We were all upset about having to spend the next few fours in the smelly bus, but eventually, we became used to it. However, even if the odor had persisted, the sights we saw today would have been worth it.
We got up at around 8 a.m. and went down to get some breakfast at the hotel. I usually never eat breakfast, and I have to say that this hotel’s breakfast was really good! Right after breakfast, we went back downstairs and got on a bus for a four-hour tour with Martin’s Gorge Tours.
It was a pretty long drive, but it was totally worth it. We stopped at Chanticleer Point and got to see the most amazing view. It’s pretty spectacular, we don’t have anything like that at home.
Wow! On Thursday the most hopping booth at the convention was the Walsworth booth. I made friends with other yearbookers as they checked out ideas in yearbooks from schools across the country.
There were these awesome huge bean bag chairs that I’m pretty sure I want to bring home with me. Not sure how I am going to get them on the plane with me but I will figure out a way.
If the buildings don’t fascinate you in Portland, then the forest and vegetation all around will. For today’s activities the Burges Journalism staff and I went to the Columbia River Gorge, just outside of Portland.
If you recall my previous blog, we come from the desert in west Texas. So, in that sense imagine the awe I felt standing before a waterfall that was over 100 ft. tall. Everything around me was so green and filled with life, unlike the dead grass that I always have to sweep off of my porch in El Paso.
After lunch, we all made our way to the convention center, where we would all register and get our nametags. We weren’t the only ones; journalism students from all over the country could be seen heading in the same direction. When we saw a cluster of other students, my friends and I would shout “journalism!” and give a thumbs-up. Most students shared our enthusiasm, but others did not. Oh well.
We quickly registered after entering the ballroom, but we weren’t ready to leave right away. I still had to enter one of our newspapers in the convention’s “Best of Show” contest. We got 6th place last year, and I’m hoping to improve. But I know that I’ll be content, regardless of the outcome. However, it never hurts to win…
Not sure why i know this but the Portland JEA/NSPA convention is my 40th.
I took my first group to the spring convention in Tuscon back in 1986. What a great time we had. The funkiest part was the BBQ and rodeo in “Old Tucson.” Although they are now scattered around the U.S. from Boston to New York to Texas, I still keep in touch with almost all of them.
A group of 15 teenagers left Springfield, Missouri (the global headquarters of Bass Pro Shops), at 5 a.m. to head to the Tulsa International Airport. Why? Simply stated, Springfield is just too rural of a town to fly out of on the way to Portland.
Every year journalism students from across the country attend two NSPA/JEA National conventions that take them to new cultural experiences. This year Portland, Oregon was able to provide the “green” side of life. From an airport that provides an open and natural environment, to a bike friendly, urban, substance filled downtown area, Portland has something for everyone. Here are the top 5 things we like about Portland so far.
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