By DORY MacMILLAN – Viewpoints Editor
For what felt like hours, I sat in the wrong terminal of ground transportation. Sitting in the Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington D.C., I nervously looked around and hoped that each passing person, anyone that looked remotely like a high school junior, was a delegate to the Al Neuharth Freedom Forum and Journalism Conference as I was.
CCHS senior Dory MacMillan speaking at the Al Neuharth Freedom Forum and Journalism Conference where she participated as a delegate.Photo courtesy of Dave Eggen.
Luckily I found my way and before I knew it, I was in the hotel with dozens of other delegates, introducing myself as “Dory from Georgia” an epithet I had rarely before needed to use. We had known each other for barely an hour, and before the day was up I felt as if I was talking with old friends.
In retrospect, besides the delegates, I realized that what I loved most was learning. I loved learning about the monuments, touring the USA Today building and discovering the importance of mobile media.
And, of course, I loved hearing the many and varied answers to the most commonly asked question of the week:
“Would you recommend going to a journalism school or majoring in journalism?”
Some, like David Gregory, said no. Others said yes. It didn’t matter. The point was the same: you need to be passionate about finding the truth. You need to understand and appreciate the First Amendment.
That is the most important lesson I learned from the conference: as journalists, we are given great power – power we must use to find and promote the truth no matter how difficult or frustrating the journey.
As the first semester of my senior year ends, after many nights spent crouched over my school computer, furiously typing stories, editing drafts and asking questions, I remember my summer experience in Washington, D.C.
I remember chanting the First Amendment by memory, in unison with the other 50 delegates in front of the Newseum.
I remember looking at century-old newspapers, realizing that it is through journalism we know the facts, we know the stories and we know the people who have shaped our country since its creation.
I remember meeting people from all over the country, whether they were aspiring journalists or seasoned moderators like Bob Schieffer.
Most of all, I remember the passion of the people around me, those who tried and failed and tried again because they loved journalism, and they understood the importance of constantly seeking the truth and providing a voice for the voiceless.
It is November and quite cold outside, a far cry from the humid D.C. weather my friends from the northern states did not quite understand. And although I would gladly miss the next week of school to fly back to D.C., this time finding the correct terminal the first time around, excited to experience the convention again, I can find solace in the fact that I am changed as a journalist from my experience.
The ODYSSEY editor craning her neck in search for the other delegates in July of last summer did not know what she was in for.
