From immersive workshops to a surprise guest speaker, the annual Florida Scholastic Press Association (FSPA) District 7 Convention was a success for both publications and broadcast students.
The convention, which includes students from Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties, took place Oct. 15 at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Fla.
Journalist Reed Alexander – who played Nevel Papperman on Nickelodeon’s hit show iCarly – was invited to speak, much to the excitement of students. Alexander found stardom through iCarly, but eventually discovered that his true passion lay within the field of journalism. He majored in journalism at New York University before obtaining a master’s degree at Columbia University’s School of Journalism.
After graduating, he worked at a variety of news outlets including CNN International, The Wall Street Journal and BBC. Currently, he works as a financial news reporter for the media company Insider. In his speech, Alexander discussed his own life story, as well as the transition from acting to reporting. He also spoke about the importance and necessity of the media and encouraged students to pursue a career in journalism.
After Alexander’s speech, students were invited to attend workshops on various topics that piqued their interest. Topics ranged from photography and design to cinematography and journalistic ethics.
Following the workshops, students made their way back to the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Within the Patriot Post, junior Ellaheh Gohari received an All Florida award in the Deadline Prose category while sophomore Zoe Horwitz won third place for her infographic. Senior Nithisha Makesh also won an Honorable Mention for her profile story while junior Anya Pinto received one for her news spread.
