After a four-and-a-half hour long flight, Amador Valley Journalism touched down in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, Nov. 12. The class attended a three-day journalism conference held by the Journalism Education Association where they learned and competed in all things journalism.
“The best thing JEA taught me was that there are so many ways to get creative in journalism and things don’t always have to look the same,” said Amadon Page Editor Katie Barhite (‘27).
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Ten minutes from the convention center, the AV Journalism class dined at the Nashville Palace on Thursday, November 13th.
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The AVtv crew poses with a gingerbread man at the Gaylord Resort to celebrate the festive spirit after their pre-convention workshop.
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The conference offered sessions from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with advisors, journalists, and experts giving guidance to different publications.
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The Gaylord Opryland Hotel had multiple wings on the vast property, including Delta Island. Delta Island had restaurants, shops, and a canal that guests could pay to take a boat ride around.
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At a preconvention to learn more about Yearbook Design, Carys Shannon (26), Izzy Cantu (27), Leon Miladinovic (27) smile big, excited for session ahead.
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In the iconic Nashville Palace, a staple of country music, food, and drinks, Sarina Lashkarian (’28) joins the live performer on stage for a rendition of “Family Traditions.”
Attendance at the conference has been an annual tradition for the program, started by Advisor Wendy Connelly in 2012 in her first year of teaching journalism. This year, students stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, a sprawling nine-acre property complete with 2,888 rooms, a water park, and a convention center where JEA was held.
“The convention center was unlike anything I’d ever imagined. It had so much to do inside and great food options. It was also beautifully lit with Christmas decorations. Me and Katie were singing Christmas songs the whole time we were there,” said Amadon Page Editor Grace Gable (‘27).
Before the convention officially started on Friday, Nov. 14, students had the opportunity to sign up for preconvention workshops on Thursday, Nov. 13th. The preconvention workshops were longer, ranging from 4-8 hours, and offered in-depth guidance on different topics. Students chose topics that aligned with their interests, from Broadcast Video to Public Leadership. Broadcast students had the opportunity to create segments based on the teacher-led instruction during the preconvention. They can be viewed at the left.
“The session was six hours long, so our instructor did a great job of going in depth and explaining new terms and ideas that some of us hadn’t known. We also got the opportunity to look at other newspapers and magazines other schools had created. Everything was really impressive and sparked news ideas for what I’d like to add to our paper,” said Gable.
The official conference spanned from Friday to Saturday with a range of workshops, classes, and sessions offered. From “Break with a Pro” to “Photojournalism 101”, there was something for everyone.
“My favorite session was one called ‘Pick me: what makes a student journalist stand out’ because the instructor, Bonnie, had such a unique perspective. I loved meeting new people and my perspective on journalism was really broadened by seeing how other newspapers operate. I think there’s a lot we can incorporate at Amador,” said Amadon Page Editor Riya Upadhyaya (‘27).
Additionally, the conference also featured keynote speakers famous in the media world. One such speaker was Cathy Kuhlmeier, the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988).
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Before the flight, Gabriel Hernandez (’26), Daxton Luong (’26), Aiden Perez (’26), and Jack Renwick (’26) look at the JEA trip schedule and start to plan sessions to attend later in the week.
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Ireland Cox (’26), Grant Inman (’26), Leon Miladinovic (’27), and Saarthak Yadav (’27) pose for a photo at the Nashville Palace: where they get to enjoy Nashville cuisine and music culture.
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Gabe Hernandez (’26) and Aiden Perez (’26) review footage together for their competition, which focused on the resorts upkeep and maintenance of the Delta canal.
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During the pre-convention workshop, Jack Renwick (’26) and Aiden Perez (’26) walk around the resort to find an individual to profile and create a segment.
Along with informational sessions and a bustling college fair, students had the opportunity to enter in competitions. Three Amador teams earned the distinction of “Excellent” or “Superior” in the Online Package, Broadcast Editing, and Literary Magazine Poetry contests.
“It felt nice to win. When I saw the message, I was shocked. The competition took a lot of effort and so much energy, but it was worth it. When Aiden and I turned it in, it felt like we represented not just all of AVJ, but also all of Amador. So when I saw that we had won Superior, I was so happy. It felt like we had won FOR Amador,” said Segments Editor Gabriel Hernandez (‘26).
To learn more about our students thoughts on the contest, read this article to find out what their process and biggest takeaway was from the National Student Media Contest.
During their stay, the journalism class played just as hard as they worked. Wrapping up the first day of convention, students had the chance to visit the SoundWaves, the iconic water resort attached to the hotel.
“My favorite moments from JEA were playing poker in the hallway, going to the water park, and just messing around with our friends. We all got a lot closer and bonded as a group,” said AVtv Editor-in-Chief Saarthak Yadav (‘27).
The Saturday morning before heading home, everyone squeezed in their final few sessions. While the class gained valuable journalistic knowledge, experience, and insight, they also developed closer class ties.
“The best part was having fun with my friends whether that be making a vlog of the trip, taking photoshoots in our room, or just walking around and getting lost in the huge resort,” said AVtv editor Jack Renwick (‘26).