2021 Washington Journalism Media Conference 

Summary of WJMC Experience: 

Overall, the Washington Journalism Media Conference was an insightful revelation to my interests and values. I met people with similar values, interests, and ambitions as my own. I met people with different experiences and cultures. The students and faculty included were from many diverse states. I heard many guest speakers talk about their struggles and accomplishments in their journalistic careers. I met people I would have never met without this opportunity. My feelings on this event changed extremely in comparison from the first to the last day. I recommend taking advantage of every opportunity given to you. There was a keynote speaker, Savannah Behrmann @SavBehrmannDC, who said on the first day, "diamonds are made under pressure." I believe that everything anyone spoke about in this event was very life-changing. 

July 18, 2021- First day:

-Arrived at George Mason University, Hampton residence at 11:50 am

-Received my key card and was directed to my room around 12:10 pm

-Stayed in the dorm organizing until 12:40 pm

-Went to the hub to see my faculty advisor, Mark Richard 

-There are 10 students total in my colored magenta group

-Stayed in the dorm up until 5:20 pm

-Had a group meeting, getting to know each other and the rules

-Had dinner, there were around 3 options of meals for the night

-After dinner, speaker Savannah Behrmann @SavBehrmannDC former alumna of 2013 and current USA Today journalist, spoke about the reasons how she became passionate about political journalism

-Savannah Behrmann also shared her experiences, journey, and struggles of her life change from WJMC up to now. She explained that one of the most important things in journalism is to build connections and always ask the why in people and situations

-Many people had questions for Ms. Behrmann  about her career and her struggles as a woman in the industry 

-Towards 9 pm, we had another magenta group meeting talking about expectations, rules, and goals for the week. During this meeting, we each created an elevator pitch talking about our biggest goal and how we would reach it, and why we were qualified to earn or achieve it

-By 10:30 pm all the students and faculty were in their rooms getting ready for bed

July 19, 2021- Second day:

-Woke up around 3 am and stayed awake until it was ready to get ready at 6:20 am

-Made my way to the COVID testing site (each one of us had to spit a certain amount into a tube)

-All 100 students' results came back in an hour and a half

-Breakfast at the Southside dining hall in George Mason University

-Waited around 30 minutes for the buses to arrive to transport us to another GMU campus in Arlington, Virginia

-Tom Jackman of the Washington Post and creator of the true crime blog spoke about his career and adventures as part of his 23 years working at the Washington Post

-Tom Jackman said that the traits you need to become a multimedia journalist are FAVF (Fast, Accurate, Versatile, and Fair). He also said that to be a good journalist, you need fresh ideas

-Once the speaker was done, everyone was transported to Chevys Fresh Mexican restaurant

-When lunch was over around 1:30 pm, everyone made their way back to the GMU campus in Arlington, Virginia, to hear speaker Nicholas Wu, Congressional Reporter from POLITICO

-Nicholas Wu talked about how, because of the rise in media, the pathway of journalism has many opportunities and sides to it

-When Nichol WU finished his speech, we traveled to the MLK memorial in DC. We stayed there for 30 minutes

-After the MLK memorial, around 4 pm, we traveled to the museum Planet World, which just recently opened back up in DC in 2021

-The museum of Planet Word revolved around the power of words and how each country and state has a different version of English, including different accents and phrases

-Around 6:15 pm, everyone went up to the 3rd floor of the Planet Word museum to eat dinner

-After dinner at Planet Word, we traveled outside of the White House for photo opportunities

-When everyone had taken their picture outside of the White House, we took a twilight monument tour of the Lincoln statue as well as the World War II memorial 

-When 9:45 pm came around, we boarded the buses back to the GMU campus and had a bed check at 10:30 pm 

July 20, 2021- Third day:

-Breakfast at 7:30 am in Southside Dining Hall

-Transported to GMU campus in Arlington, Virginia, to hear speaker Andrias White Murdaugh, Co-Host, Virginia This Morning

-Andrias White Murdaugh used to work at GMU, preparing for the WJMC every year until she switched into broadcast journalism. She taught me that fate and destiny lead you to your future, all you need to do is put yourself out there

-After Andrias White Murdaugh finished her speech at GMU, we went to an Italian restaurant called Buca di Beppo

-When lunch was over, everyone went to the National Press Club to hear Susan Goldberg, Editorial Director, National Geographic Partners & Editor-in-Chief, of National Geographic Magazine

-Susan Goldberg talked about National Geographic and its accomplishments. One of her quotes was that "the fire inside me burns brighter than the fire around me." From her talk, I learned that sometimes you have to access the human heart in your writing

-After Susan Goldberg finished her speech, Lauren Ober, Host & Producer, Spectacular Failures, of American Public Media spoke

-Lauren Ober mostly talked about her upcoming podcast coming in 2022 about a gorilla named Koko

-When Lauren Ober was done speaking in the National Press Club, everyone made their way back to campus to eat at Southside Dining Hall

-After dinner, everyone had a 2nd color group meeting on the events of the day and upcoming events for the rest of the night

-After the color group meeting, everyone made their way to Dewberry Hall-Johnson Center on Campus for a WJMC color feud game

-When the color game feud was over, everyone made their way back to their dorms for the bed check at 10:30 pm

July 21, 2021- Fourth day:

-Breakfast at Southside Dining Hall

-Fourth color group meeting at 8:40 am

-Carol Guzy, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, shared a slideshow of her most deeply impacting photos at Dewberry Hall-Johnson Center in Campus

-In Guzy's speech, she talked about the difficulties of the truth in the world. What I learned from her speech is that as a journalist/photojournalist, you can document and change someone's life, but you also have to live your own

-After Guzy's speech, some people had lunch at Southside, but most attended lunch in the campus's food court

-When lunch ended, Alan Byrd, Dean of Admissions at George Mason University, presented a slideshow on what colleges look for in future undergraduate students. He also talked about how one would get ready for college

-After Byrd finished his speech, each color group had a simulation to earn their college credit by attending and participating in WJMC

-In the simulation, each person was assigned an article. Each person had to represent the importance of their issue and why it would make a good front cover

-At 6 pm, everyone had dinner at Southside Dining Hall

-When dinner was over, each student had the opportunity of choosing from 8 speakers which one they would like to learn from

-I chose Richard T. Craig, Assistant Professor of Communication, at GMU

-Richard T. Craig talked about the impact media has had on society and the lack of interaction between humans because of it, but also the benefits of it

-At 9 pm, Meghan ATB Reese, Producer & Photographer, of National Geographic WILD, gave a speech

-Meghan ATB Reese shared her experience and passion for being a TV producer and photographer. She explained how she likes to capture happy moments

-Security check at 10:30 pm

July 22, 2021- Last Full day:

-Breakfast at Southside Dining Hall at 7:30 am

-I woke up late and wasn't able to eat breakfast

-Rode a bus to the Capitol Building in DC for a group and individual picture at 9:30 am

-After the group and individual pictures, my color group and I visited the Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum

-We also stopped at a Vegan restaurant and ate some sandwiches

-Around 3 pm, everyone returned to the dorms to get ready for the Gala at 6:30 pm

-Attended the Gala at Westfields Marriott at 7 pm

-I had lots of fun during the Gala. There was karaoke, water pong, food, and ice cream. Everything was well prepared and beautiful.

-We arrived at the dorms around 11 pm and had a bed check at 11:30 pm

July 23, 2021 - Last half day:

-Breakfast at Southside Dining Hall at 7:30 am

-Last color group meeting at 8:30 am

-Closing Ceremony was held in Dewberry Hall-Johnson Center at GMU

-Guest speaker Taj Kokayi, WJMC Alumna of GMU, spoke about his experiences and future after WJMC

-A 5-minute slideshow of the trip was presented towards the end of the ceremony

-Left campus one by one starting at 10:30 am