By Allison Fitts

Day 3 of the high school journalism conference was our last in Minneapolis. It was a day for the Dart and Teresian staffs to wrap up their sessions, as well as be rewarded for their hard work. Check out my recap of our day three activities:

8:08 a.m.  This was the time my roommates (seniors Katie McCombs, Mary O’Leary and Hannah Wolf) woke up. We had anticipated waking up an hour earlier, but after the busy day we had on Friday, our bodies realized that we needed a little more rest. Getting dressed and packed in 22 minutes to meet our 8:30 a.m. deadline was a whirlwind, and the lack of organization in my duffel bag showed it.

10:53 a.m.  The Dart, DartNewsOnline and the Teresian have all, at one time or another, been nominated for a Pacemaker, the most prestigious award in high school journalism. I had always been impressed with this feat, but after attending a session about what it takes to be nominated for the award, I was even more amazed at what out publications at STA have accomplished. I saw a slideshow full of high school newspapers and yearbooks that would put professional ones to shame. It made me proud to be among their ranks.

12:17 p.m.  The beginning of the afternoon was one of the most magical moments of the convention. Not only did we have Chipotle for lunch, but it also snowed! Listening to Christmas music all weekend finally seemed appropriate for the situation. Everyone was a little saddened by the news that it was 65 degrees back in Kansas City.

3:21 p.m.  Our last big event was the NSPA award ceremony, and what an event it was! DartNewsOnline got third place in the Best of Show competition for small school publication websites. That, combined with the exciting news that the Teresian got fifth place in the Best of Show for yearbooks of 225-274 pages made for a happy Mr. Thomas and a happy bus ride home.

8:44 p.m.  About 2 hours into our drive home, we stopped our bus in the Minnesota town of Albert Lea. It should be called “Home of the World’s Best Gas Station” because this one had it all. We’re talking gigantic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Minnesota-themed apparel and a Cold Stone Creamery inside. The best feature, though, was the huge bathroom because with 30-some-odd girls it could have taken a long time.

1:20 a.m.  After eight hours of driving, our journey came to a close as we saw beautiful STA through the bus windshield. The trip to the high school journalism conference in Minneapolis was one of learning and fun. We made memories and formed new friendships. We discovered things that we will be able to use in our publications. We realized how lucky we are to have a great school, advisor and support system at STA that inspire us to do our best work on the staffs of the Dart and the Teresian.

Thanks for following my journey, as well as everyone on the Dart and Teresian, as we improved our journalistic skills and became closer as staffs!