Ed note: In early August, Arlene Washington ’13 was one of four USC Annenberg students selected to participate in the Student Multimedia Project for the annual National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention. We asked Washington to share with us some of her experiences. Her travelogue follows.

When I stepped out of the terminal in Orlando International Airport, it hit me like the hot humid air that filled my lungs that what I had been looking forward to for the last two years was here and now. I was attending my first convention of journalists.

Waiting for the shuttle to the hotel in Kissimmee, I ran into a familiar face from USC, student Madison Sanders, who had also been selected to attend the all-expense paid fellowship as a broadcast journalist. As we drove through swampy surroundings of lakes encompassed by greenery, we struck up a conversation with the other two ladies sharing our shuttle. They turned out to be Dawn Kelly, VP of Communications for Prudential, and Sarah Glover, NBC Philadelphia Social Media Editor and NABJ Presidential Candidate. As that duo began to share with us what would lie ahead, so began our week of learning from established veterans in our profession.

As we pulled into the JW Marriott Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center, little did I realize that my look out the shuttle window would be one of my last glances of Kissimmee. Our involvement as student reporters began the moment I checked in, and the resort became our own secluded oasis tucked in the marshland of the city.

Madison and I were able to catch up with students Jerome Campbell and Raishad Hardnett at the student mixer on our first night. We enjoyed appetizers while meeting other students and the mentors who would be working with us in the newsroom.

Our first night wasn’t all fun and games. After about a half-hour of mingling, our two mentors (Delano Massey, Lexington Herald-Leader Metro Editor, and Andale Gross, The Associated Press Regional Editor) rounded up the print reporting group to discuss the budget for our first edition of the NABJ Monitor, slated to hit the press in two days.

There were five of us, and I was assigned to cover the bi-annual NABJ Board Elections. I didn’t waste any time as I began gathering quotes from candidates and current board members who were present at the mixer. It was only Monday, two days before the convention officially was to start, and I had already found myself networking within a sea of current NABJ members and former participants, or “NABJ babies” of the student projects program.

The second day of my stay was the calm before the storm. While most of the attendees wouldn’t arrive until the next day, the rest of the student reporters and I were busy working all day inside a large open room in the convention hall set up with gold tables and desktop computers. This would serve as our working newsroom.

I sat with the rest of my print group at our table as I watched Hardnett and Sanders rush out with cameras to tape a package to air on a local channel later that night. Campbell would constantly monitor social media at his multimedia table behind me.

The newsroom was your typical “home” for journalists filled with the loud hustle and bustle of students under pressure to reach a deadline. With a two-day start ahead of the official opening of the convention, we all were well-organized, calm and collected in knowing what we needed to work on. Together, we quickly formed a real working newsroom.

When the convention officially began that Wednesday, it quickly grew in number as attendees filled the halls. Students and professionals from across the country filed in and out of panels, workshops and the career fair.

Former colleagues reunited with one another; seasoned professionals passed along advice to students; and first-time NABJ convention participants introduced themselves to others who all had one thing in common: a passion for journalism.

As the number of people networking across the convention halls increased, so did the opportunities. No matter where you walked, you were sure to meet someone new who could provide advice on perfecting your craft. Especially when people like CNN’s Don Lemon casually came in to check up on us in the newsroom. Convention activities kept us busy to the point where my print reporting colleagues and I didn’t even have time to go outside, and the open courtyard enclosed under a large glass atrium sufficed for getting a breath of fresh air.

Although I spent most of my time working in the newsroom, I still made sure to attend the career fair of universities and employers from companies including Reuters, Fox and the Los Angeles Times.  I soaked in as much information as I could at an informational breakfast held by NBC Universal, and I ran into Allyson Hill, Assistant Dean of USC Annenberg Admissions, who was recruiting students for the school’s various programs of study. Not only was Allyson happy to see us Trojans representing our university at NABJ, but she was proud to see other USC students who weren’t in the student projects but simply came to be a part of an organization designed to see young journalists succeed.

As a student reporter, I was introduced to my share of reporting firsts and challenges. Live coverage of an election was a first for me, and I found it thrilling to be in the room with Bob Butler, a CBS reporter and now NABJ President (who has also spoken at Annenberg).

When Butler first received word of his presidential win, he said, “Wait! I have to tweet this first!” I also covered my first press conference which was held by the family of Trayvon Martin as they announced their plans for an amendment to the Stand Your Ground laws in states across the country. My article ended up being picked up by the Philadelphia Tribune.

What I appreciated most about the convention was that attending as a student reporter, almost everyone became your pillars of support. When students interviewed Bob Butler, he would give  them tips for how to have the best camera angle. It was those little gems of advice received from established journalists that I will remember as I strive to become a better, more seasoned reporter. I truly appreciated being able to mingle with those with whom I have so much in common and to learn how they worked.

If I had to sum up my fellowship experience in one word, it would be “opportunity.” NABJ not only gave me the opportunity to attend and network with such a widely recognized group of journalists, but provided the opportunity for me to showcase the skills that I was taught at USC Annenberg. I know I could not have covered the convention without my preparation in print reporting and I’m definitely looking forward to returning to NABJ ’14. With luck, I’ll be in position then to share tips and offer advice to students and other first-timers.

Arlene Washington graduated from USC Annenberg in May 2013 with a journalism degree. A former staff writer for the Daily Trojan, she is currently an editorial assistant at the The Hollywood Reporter.  She reported from Kissimmee, Fla.

Related Articles: Annenberg’s Eric Burse named NABJ 2012 student journalist of the year, Annenberg’s Ashley Michelle Williams named NABJ 2011 student journalist of the year, USC Annenberg launches new nine-month Journalism MS degree program