Laryssa Diaz: Focused on Sports Journalism

How did you feel before you went to L.A.?

“Well before I went I was kinda nervous because I’ve only been on a plane once, but other than that I was excited to go for the experience and journalism and also for me to learn new things for something I do want to do in my future career.”

How did you feel after the flight when you got to L.A.?

“I was excited, seeing a bunch of other schools and seeing what they do. It definitely sparked some new ideas in my head for our publications and pictures and all the other stuff that we can do.”

During the convention, what session was the most interesting to you?

“I don’t remember what it was called, but it was one of the sports sessions about where you can and can’t take photos. It gave me some new ideas—like not being in the same spot—and kinda breaking out of my shell and being able to like move around the field, the court, wherever, to get better shots.”

What was the most fun part about being in L.A.? 

“Walking around L.A. We didn’t really walk far, just down the street to Target and also to Starbucks. Stuff like that was pretty fun, just being downtown.”

What was the most fun part of going to the convention?

“I’d say meeting new people. It was fun getting to know and learn about other people like writers, publishers, just everyone. It was very fun bonding with people over something you have in common and also your differences with other people.”

 How was your experience talking to new people?

“We were walking back to our hotel from Target, and there was a group of guys, and they were pretty cool. We just started talking about where we were from—they were from San Francisco—and we also talked about what we did in our newsrooms.” 

 Would you go to L.A. again?

“I would definitely go again because I want to learn new things and let others know that you can do this, too.”

Would you go to another out-of-state convention?

“Yeah I would, I want to pick up new ideas from everyone. It could be some random place like Missouri and everything could be displayed in a completely different way than it was in L.A.”