Steph Valenti
Reporter
With society slowly returning back to “normal” after the drastic lifestyle changes due to the pandemic, some of Pacific Lutheran University’s students made a summer trip to Minneapolis for a student journalism conference.
The Mega College Media workshop was hosted by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), and took place in the University of Minnesota. The Mast staff members Sarah Fox, Monroe Torkelson, and myself all resided in Comstock Hall during the three day conference. Unfortunately, Nolan James, our editor-in-chief, contracted COVID and was unable to attend.
The conference gave students the option to choose from one of many tracks to focus on when signing up, all led by professionals across the country. Our lutes enrolled in the multimedia track and the design track.
Before breaking into individual tracks, all attendees of the conference, which totalled around 170 students, attended orientation. During the orientation, student journalists listened to journalist Rochelle Olson and photojournalist Mark Vancleave discuss their experience covering “One Week in Minneapolis,” which covered the death of George Floyd and the aftermath.
Amy Devault and Sara Quinn, the leaders of the multimedia track, shared many free and accessible apps to help create content, and gave students prompts to explore the apps. The multimedia track students also got to meet with Anna Marie Boone who designed the layout of the “One Week in Minneapolis” story.
“It was a great experience I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t a part of student media. I learned so much about media as a form of communication, especially social media,” said Fox about the multimedia track.
Being surrounded by fellow student journalists and looking at each other’s content helped each other see what could succeed and what wouldn’t.
Leaders of the design track Gary Metzker and Gary Lundgren had students practice laying out some old designs differently, and asked students to give each other feedback. Students also learned about how to best use white space, so readers can have the ultimate reading experience.
Learning about how to maximize your social media presence or about linear design for websites and papers are just a few things that can be covered in conferences like this one. Students can also create connections with professionals who can mentor, collaborate, or simply support their work which can extend their network in the field.
“My favorite things were getting to meet other people involved in media from different schools, getting to see the different publications and strategies other schools are using,” said Torkelson, who attended the design track.
As the meetings usually ended at 5 p.m., our lutes had the chance to explore Minneapolis during their downtime. Trying new foods, or simply touring in downtown, Dinkytown, or along Washington Avenue were some of the other highlights of the trip. Students could also connect with peers that ranged all the way from the West coast to the East coast.
The trip would not have been possible without the help of Anna Holcomb, the Senior Administrative Assistant of the College of Professional Studies, who assisted in coordinating the trip, booking flights, and arranging the stay at the dorms.
If learning new things and traveling interest you, joining the Mast can get you there, while covering almost all costs. Attending conferences, such as this previous one, gives us students the opportunity to meet with professionals we may not ever cross paths with in other circumstances, which can provide more resources to help explore careers.
