Introducing Me

Hello, and welcome to my blog! As stated above, my name is Emma Frieze, and I will be attending the Washington Journalism and Media Conference as a National Youth Correspondent this summer. But before I talk about my experiences related to and during WJMC, I’d like to tell you a few things about myself.

First of all, I’m a high school student (a rising senior, in fact!) from a small town in Kansas. I am fairly new to the field of journalism, but from an early age, I have loved reading and writing. I grew up with the Magic Tree House series, Harry Potter, and just about anything Gail Carson Levine. If I were to add up all the hours I have spent curled up in a chair penning stories and poetry, I would probably find I have spent days – if not weeks – writing my own fiction. Throughout my school career, most of my nonfiction works have been essays on topics such as “themes in To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Analyze a character from Romeo and Juliet.” However, I had more opportunities this year in particular, as a junior in high school, to write essays on choice subjects that more particularly intrigue me. For example, last December, I did an argumentative research paper on environmental education in K-12 schools, something I strongly believe should be implemented in more schools across the nation and also improved in many places it already exists. I also took an engrossing U.S. History course this year that provided me the opportunity to research and analyze fascinating subjects like the Harlem Renaissance, American Media of the 1960s, and the not-as-political side of the Women’s Movement of the early 20th century.

Disclaimer: I’m more a novice albeit eager student than a well-versed scholar on any of these topics. Still, writing about topics such as environmental education has shown me just how passionate I am about communicating ideas that I find meaningful. It is humbling to know that through my writing for my history class, I have added to the broad and deep historical narrative of our nation through writing my own perspective on issues and events that have shaped the United States and determined its path. Though, for now at least, my perspective may be inexpert and seem somewhat insignificant, I always hope that my passion shows through.

I am always looking for ways to improve my writing and to become a better communicator in general. In addition to writing, I love public speaking, sharing images and information over social media, doing graphic design work, and networking with others in person (That is, the part of me that’s not introverted loves networking with others in person. The other part still always enjoys the people but is not always as comfortable with the networking . . . or, as I like to put it, is not yet comfortable!).

I am very thrilled to be attending WJMC this summer. Outside of writing some student articles for my county newspaper, I have little experience on the front-lines of journalism. I’m excited to see what the conference has in store for me and am looking forward to gaining new skills and learning about the fields of journalism and media. I am still undecided on where I would like to go to college in just over a year, and though I have an idea of what I would like to major in, my decision on that has not been set. I hope being on the campus of George Mason University for a week and getting my feet wet with some real-world experience through WJMC will give me some guidance on what direction I want to go with the next chapter of my life.

One more thing: When I received an invitation to attend WJMC in the mail near the end of 2018, I literally felt my heart flutter in my chest. For reasons I can’t quite explain, I just had this feeling like, This is what I’m supposed to do. I think I am supposed to go to this conference and give this a try. A few weeks later, with my parents’ permission, I went with my instinct and registered online. Now, here I am, a little over a month from it all becoming reality. I received my Welcome Packet in the mail, along with my conference t-shirt. I have started my suggested reading list, and here I am, starting a WJMC blog. I don’t know exactly what will be in store for me once I get to George Mason University, but I know one thing for sure: This is going to be an exciting adventure!