On the first weekend of April, communications students visited the National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City. Every year, communications students from around the United States are invited to the convention held at different locations in April. Luckily for Spring Hill students, the convention was held at the Sheraton and Westin Hotels in Crown Center. 

“It was cool to hear the speakers talk about something I’m interested in, and that has a career in that topic. I got great advice on how to be better,” Rylee Jones, 10, said.

Hundreds of sessions were held, focusing on the various branches of journalism. Some of the sessions included graphic design, how the Kansas City Star covered The Eras Tour, covering the Super Bowl, how to write like Taylor Swift, covering elections, and more. 

“I mainly went to sessions that had to do with photography. They talked about creativity and how creativity doesn’t always come easy for people or natural. A guy said that he told his teacher one day that he didn’t feel creative, and his teacher told him he wasn’t, he just knows where to be at the moment and in the moment. Memories are taken with a camera and don’t always have to look crazy good, but just have a story or meaning behind it,” Shelby Hatcher, 11, said. 

The speakers varied from session to session, but some were local and national

professors, and real-life journalists sharing their experiences. The perk of having the convention held in Kansas CIty, is many of the speakers were local, so the students could talk to future professors, or people they have seen on the news. 

“I plan to go to KU [University of Kansas] and I got to meet future professors that I will have. There were local businesses there too, which I got to meet them. I got to hear from speakers that work right here in Kansas which was a great experience,” Caden Bartek, 12, said.

Bartek attended the convention last year that was held in St. Louis. Even though it is the same convention, they still learned something new. 

“Last year, we were able to stay in a hotel and walk straight to the convention in St. Louis. I was able to learn a lot more from the sessions last year since they are more geared towards beginners, but I still got some things out of this year too. I learned more about the technological advancements in journalism in Kansas City,” Bartek said.

The convention was a success overall. In 2027, the convention will be held in Nashville, Ten.