Today was a long but wonderful day. After I arrived at the George Mason University campus, I settled into my room, met my faculty and junior faculty advisors at The Hub, and went on a campus tour. Next, I had my first unofficial meeting with the Maroon Group. I can already tell that I have some pretty amazing groupmates! We played a fun game to remember each other’s names and even had a crazy encounter with one of the Starship robots on campus (Check them out here: https://www2.gmu.edu/news/574036).
Soon, it was time to go to the conference’s Opening Dinner at Dewberry Hall in GMU’s Johnson Center. I must say I was quite impressed by the formality and style of the event. The layout of the dinner was very elegant, and I greatly appreciate the WJMC Directors, Advance Team, and other faculty and staff for all the hard work they did to make it a success. Our speaker for the night was Sonya Gavankar, Director of Public Relations for the Newseum, and she had a very humorous and thought-provoking speech that I found very relatable and useful. I was lucky to be able to ask her a question, and I was quite pleased with her response.
During the dinner, we also watched a video message recorded for us by Hoda Kotb, Co-Host of Today. Even though she was not able to speak to us in person, I was still inspired by her message about never giving up. It was really neat to hear a celebrity journalist delivering a message specific to National Youth Correspondents like me. This was one of many aspects of the dinner that gave it a unique energy I had not experienced before. It made me feel like a professional (or a future professional at least) and motivated me to get out of my comfort zone during this conference.
Our final activity for the day was our first official Maroon Group Meeting. We first talked about our personal and professional images, which involved discussing our unique traits. Then, we developed elevator pitches and presented them to other group members on a one-on-one basis. Of course, we also had fun! We laughed out loud, enjoyed debating the proper way to play rock-paper-scissors, played more icebreaker games, and even filmed a mannequin challenge video to the newly released cover of Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” performed by Whitney Houston and Kygo.
Overall, my first day of WJMC was thrilling. I enjoyed meeting new people and hearing from our first speaker. I also had an interesting tour of campus and a fabulous dinner. When the opportunity arose for me to ask a question, I challenged myself to be brave and stepped up to the microphone. Before WJMC began, I was nervous because I doubted my competence. Now, that doubt is being replaced by confidence, and the nervousness has eased away into excitement. I had a delightful first day at WJMC, and I look forward to my next day of learning and experiencing.
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