On Nov. 9, SPUB traveled for their biannual trip to The National High School Journalism Convention. This year, the convention was held in the America’s Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis. The previous year’s trip was skipped due to COVID-19, and the convention was held virtually. This was the first year it has been back in person.

The convention had over hundreds of learning sessions and hosted around 3400 attendees. Students from many parts of the country attended as well as students who traveled from as far as London. The attendees could choose to go to presentations that varied in subjects like journalism, broadcasting, photography, and design. There were breakout sessions, hands-on workshops, and discussion groups. 

“It definitely opened my eyes because our yearbook is very nice and structural, but seeing everyone else’s ideas expanded the box for us,” Libby Leblanc, Design Editor, 12,  said.

This was Leblanc’s first time at the convention. This was also the first year that the staff has taken a video production student.

“Every single session I went to I benefited in some way. I was able to bring back a lot of information and share that with the people in broadcasting right now,” Caden Bartek, Video Product II student, 11, said.

After the trip, members took the time to share what they took away from the convention and their overall experience with the rest of the staff. 

“My favorite thing was when we went to the shopping district and went to some really cheap restaurant that wasn’t very good, but it was kind of surreal because I’ve just never traveled without my family before,” Blake McLaughlin, 11, said. 

The trip allowed the students to learn about their publications and also spend time with their other staff members. 

“It was just interesting how we are so very different, but we all got along, especially in the tight Subaru together,” Leblanc said.