SJMC Students and Faculty Represent Texas State University SPJ Chapter at Excellence in Journalism 2017

September 13, 2017

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Professor Kym Fox and two SJMC students attended Excellence in Journalism 2017, the national conference of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), in Anaheim, California this month.“Students get the chance to meet with not only other university students but also professionals who have more than 20 years of work experience,” said Fox. “Getting exposed to high profile journalists help students learn from the pros and shape their career.”This year, SJMC students Triston Giesie and Jakob Rodriguez attended a session called “Work in Progress: Pressing the President” with Jim Acosta, CNN; Christina Bellantoni, Los Angeles Times; Adrian Carrasquillo, Buzzfeed news; Jeff Pegues, CBS News; Margaret Talev, Bloomberg; and Kyle Pope, Columbia Journalism Review.Triston GiesieCurrently a junior in public relations, Triston Giesie thinks that from meeting media icons to his current peers and future coworkers at EIJ 2017 helped him set future. “The conference, to me, seemed to open my eyes and connect me to the mainstream journalism network,” said Giesie. “Now that I have attended it, I feel exponentially more confident in my ability to gain a job after graduation—or even an internship before that.”Jakob RodriguezJakob Rodriguez said he had a great time taking school trips and representing the university. “I loved being able to represent Texas State at the National SPJ conference,” said Rodriguez. “A Personal highlight is stepping up and speaking on the floor in favor of a proposed bylaw change."