New York, Feb. 2025
This past February, four small-town college kids braved the ‘Big Apple’ in all its bedazzling glory. Each year, Stetson’s Hatter Network sends a select group of student journalists to represent The Reporter Magazine and WHAT Radio Station for the College Media Association convention (or ProCon), hosted in New York City. This year, Natalie McCoy, Nico Alonso, Colin Rhoads and I were among those lucky few to board the plane bound for LaGaurdia. Indeed, the convention was a journalistic haven for us, broadening our knowledge of media techniques which we were able to bring back to campus in Deland. Along with, of course, newly-made memories of Times Square lights and 99-cent pizza.
While the first day was mostly consumed by travel, our group wasted no time after hotel check-in to hit the streets. In brutal honesty, we were in search of a bite to eat, starved from the early morning flight. Before long, the four of us stumbled on a charming, hole-in-the-wall pizza joint selling by the slice. Grape sodas and pepperoni in hand, we continued for another few blocks to take in the sights. Times Square was brilliant at night—with its flashing billboards and swarming crowds, it certainly lived up to its name of the ‘city that never sleeps.’ And while Colin and Natalie indulged in a Broadway show that night, Nico and I took the opportunity to dress up and head to a nearby ramen restaurant called ICHIRAN. Highly recommend—they make a mean matcha tea.
Nonetheless, we meant business from there on out. The second and third days of the trip were dedicated to our itinerary within the convention, which was held at the prestigious Marriott Marquis hotel. On both mornings we somehow managed to don our coats and leave before 7:00am, in hopes of acquiring caffeine before the long days ahead. At the convention, our group parted ways to attend separate lecture sessions on specific areas within the media realm. For instance, Colin listened in on various radio broadcasting lectures, while Nico, Natalie and I focused on journalistic and literary sessions. We each were extremely fortunate to network with elite professionals in the field, myself taking up a newfound interest in broadcasting after one such connection. Nico, on the other hand, favored a certain journalist/editor sporting a custom red suit covered in the word, ‘libel.’
My fellow Reporter friends and I were grateful to receive critiques on our own literary publications—of which were the latest printed issues from the university’s Reporter magazine and the Touchstone Literary Journal. Our advisor springboarded ideas onto us for upcoming issues, such as expanding our angles for reporting and emphasizing student credibility. Rest assured, we took dutiful notes and are eager to begin implementing these concepts into next year’s publications.
Following the convention, our evening endeavors included more sightseeing—and the occasional crisis of getting lost on the South-bound subway, after realizing we had been riding it for ten stops too many. Our wanderings took us from the Strand Bookstore on Broadway to the heavenly spires of St Patrick’s Cathedral, and to the Morgan Library and Museum where we learned about Franz Kafka and saw beautiful artifacts (i.e., illuminated manuscripts of the Bible and an original page from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter). And of course, there was a spontaneous sighting of Nick Jonas, who was walking directly in front of us through the crowded streets. To which, we were utterly and blissfully ignorant. Speaking of—our group also happened to be oblivious of the concept of ‘tourist tax,’ and poor Nico (who kept tabs on our budget for the trip’s entirety) nearly went into comatose upon discovering our $75 bill from the halal cart on the corner. Readers: Always question a man in a food cart who looks a bit too happy whilst making your gyro.
Despite the hiccups, New York City, with its unforgettable sights and career opportunities to offer, felt like a lucid dream. I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say that the 2025 CMA ProCon was a vessel for our ambitions and a looking-glass into what our professional futures could be. It was an experience that could only prove fruitful for us—and for next year’s round of students, and the years after that.
