My hands were sweating as I tightly held to my last-minute made business cards. Thinking, “Do they look professional?” “Did I forget to include any information?” As I walked into the room full of news directors, reporters and top executives, my mind went blank.
“How am I supposed to talk to all these people when I don’t know any of them?” “They’re all engaged in conversation; will it be rude if I step in and introduce myself?”
After several minutes of deliberating what to do, I took a deep breath, gathered all the courage I had in me, and took the daring step toward my future career.
The Excellence in Journalism conference hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Society of Professional Journalists and Radio Television Digital News Association took place this past weekend in Orlando, Florida. Professionals from all over the United States came together in one place to learn, network and recognize top individuals in the industry.
For me, this was an experience like none other. It felt like arriving at a new country where people spoke my language, but had a different type of culture. At the Walter Cronkite School, they always said the media world is a close group; everyone knows everyone.
This was clear at the conference. On the first day, I saw reporters run to each other with open arms, like two friends who hadn’t seen each other in months. At first, I was surprised by all the happenings in my surroundings, not really understanding how this whole “networking” thing worked.
But on my last day, as I said goodbye to all my new friends, I felt like those reporters from my first day — happy to see my new friends, but sad to let them go.
Breaking the ice
It took me several minutes to analyze the room and see how everything was taking place. I observed and listened to how reporters would introduce themselves to news directors and carried a conversation. This was a great method, as I was still amazed by the powerful room I was in.
“Okay, I have enough business cards in my pocket and backup ones in my purse. I rehearsed my elevator speech and I have printed resumes just in case,” I thought to myself.
As I was about to enter an unknown land, I saw one of the girls I was just in a workshop with — Courtney Seymour, a producer in Connecticut for an NBC station. She was my savior! By being in the business for a couple of years, she had worked with several people in the room. She took me under her wing and introduced me to a couple of news directors and past employers, now top executives. The rest was easy… sort of. I just had to “sell” myself to them and highlight my qualities and potential. Slowly, we made progress.
Making new friends #solosunite
Attending the conference solo was my benefit. I was on my own schedule, visited workshops that interested me and was able to meet wonderful people. Since I didn’t want to spend most of my time alone, I approached other girls that appeared to be solo like me and connected with them.
Even while at the career expo, where competition is at its highest, making friends came with the territory. While waiting to see a recruiter or in line to have my resume critiqued, it was easy to engage in a conversation once I had broken the ice.
Together we called ourselves the “solos unite”. I feel like there should be an addition to future NAHJ conferences where people traveling on their own can initially connect. This can not only improve the experience for those who don’t like to approach people, but act as another form of making new friends/connections.
I was fortunate to meet and create good relationships with six girls, all from different parts of the country and from Latin America: Chicago, Austin, West Hartford, Connecticut, Rockford, Illinois and Bogota, Colombia. These ladies not only kept me company, but introduced me to the people they knew.
The power of networking
Networking, networking, networking — these are the words my boss, the general manager of Univision Arizona, always tells me. Sometimes it’s not who you are or what you do, but who you know, he tells me. This became apparent at the conference.
I’ve been back for only a couple of days, but I have already received calls from two news directors for career opportunities. One came from networking at the conference. The other found my reel on YouTube.
The career expo also gave me the opportunity to speak one-on-one with news directors who were ready to interview and hire on the spot. Although I didn’t get hired on the spot, I did receive some incredible constructive criticism to improve my material and become a better journalist. These individuals offered to distribute my information to other markets to which I would be a great candidate.
Now, part of the networking involved heavy loads of business-card exchanges. To not lose track of these, my new friend, Alejandra Ortiz from Bogota, introduced me to CamCard. It’s a phone app that uploads business cards’ information by simply taking a picture. It only costs 99 cents, so I would definitely recommend it.
Experience within an experience
Being at the conference was an experience of its own and the large presence of professionals was another. Successful journalists from CNN, NBC, Univision, Telemundo and many more news networks were present.
“Will I ever be one of them?” I asked myself. “How successful will I be?” I wondered. Their presence sparked a heavy interest in what can be of my future career. It inspired me to self-evaluate and to think about the immense possibilities of what my future can be depending on what I do today.
Sun Devils present at EIJ
When I was first getting ready to board the plane, with no clue of what awaited in Orlando, I saw past classmates boarding the same plane also in route to EIJ. It was happy to know at least other Sun Devils were also attending.
While at the opening reception I came across our beloved Cronkite School Associate Dean Mark Lodato and Anita Luera, the school’s director of high-school journalism. It enlightened me to know they were also present because the foreign land now seemed more familiar.
While at the career expo I also came across a very successful ASU alumni, Rafael Romo, who is now CNN’s Senior Latin America Affairs Editor. It was an honor to meet him because he is now where many of us Cronkite School students want to be.
Does the Cronkite School prepare you for the real world?
As an alumni looking for career opportunities, after this conference, I can see where the Cronkite school both helped me and failed me.
I’m a Latina born in Mexico who grew up in a border town. I’ve seen the struggles and lack of information that exist in my culture. This led me to a career where I can not only lead by informing on important issues that impact our daily lives, but where I can provide knowledge for better decision making.
While at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, I learned all the necessary skills to be a reporter. I learned how to conduct research, do interviews, shoot video, edit packages and all that fun stuff.
But the school struggled to help me practice in my native language, Spanish. The only experience in Spanish I participated in was Cronkite News en Espanol, which we had to do on our own time and did not receive any academic credit for, like those who take part in the English Cronkite News broadcast.
I want to be a bilingual multimedia journalist. Many of the recruiters and news directors that I spoke with saw the minimal amount of work I’ve done in Spanish. They only had a handful of clips to see how I work in that language.
I believe the Cronkite school is high in innovation, but behind in understanding the power of a bilingual individual in the workforce. I think there should be an academic change to implement programs that highlight the potential of a student who wants to pursue a career in more than the English language. The new bilingual border and Latino reporting program is one step toward the right direction.
What I know now that I didn’t know before
There are many take-aways from this wonderful experience. The amount of learning, networking and overall experience is indescribable. Many of my co-workers who have attended the conference in past years couldn’t really give me an idea of what this conference was all about. Now I know why.
The one tip they gave me centered on outfits. It’s all about how presentable/professional you look. Interestingly true, while networking and attending the career expo, many people would ask me where I currently work and how long had I been doing it for. I’m assuming I did a good job at following their tips.
The one thing I would have done that I didn’t do before was attend this conference at the start of my educational career. I can only imagine the amounts of connections and advice I would have received had I attended as a freshman.
All in all, I would strongly recommend students taking part in this amazing conference that can open the doors to many new opportunities.
Contact the writer at loyadriana6@gmail.com
