In 2011, the D.C. Pro chapter revived its Helen Thomas Scholarship, a $500 stipend to help a local student SPJ chapter send one or more of its members to the national conference. In addition, the chapter also added a bonus award: a free early-bird conference registration, a $225 value, thanks to two free registrations the chapter won in a contest to see which SPJ chapters recruited and retained the most new members in one year. Allison Brennan received this year’s Helen Thomas Scholarship and free registration.
She was recommended by Region 2 Director Brian Eckert for her work on launching a new SPJ chapter at Georgetown University. — Andy Schotz
Here is what Brennan wrote about her experience at this year’s national convention:
I am poor. I think all students are unless they are very lucky. Therefore, it is a must that I be conservative with my funds. This precludes doing just about anything that is outside my monthly budget, even if they are as valuable to my career development as I found the SPJ conference to be this year (2011) in New Orleans. I sincerely thank the D.C. Pro Chapter of SPJ for the opportunity to attend the SPJ Conference this year on the Helen Thomas Scholarship.
During the conference, I attended several workshops, including a video journalism boot camp; a keynote address by CBS (News) Chairman Jeff Fager; a discussion with CNN’s Soledad O’Brien; learned about how to cover humanitarian emergencies; and was taught to write about characters by one of the St. Petersburg Times’ best. And these are only a few of the sessions I attended.
The excitement around journalism at the conference was contagious and reinvigorated me. Additionally, I have used much of what I learned at the conference in my classes and in my writing. Prior, I was having trouble with injecting characters into my feature stories. But after the conference, I think I came away with a better sense of how to incorporate characters. Most importantly, though, I left the conference with a renewed purpose and more confidence in my abilities than when I arrived, both of which are priceless.
Thanks,
Alli