The North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, also known as NCSMA, has hosted Journalism Day on the UNC Chapel Hill campus for decades. It is a tradition for the Cat Talk staff to take a field trip to Chapel Hill for the event every two to three years. J-Day 2017 was co-hosted by the News & Observer and welcomed a jaw-dropping 385 students from different high schools all across the state. On October 19, donning Millbrook’s iconic blue, our staff left at the crack of dawn for this year’s celebration of youth journalism.

 We were welcomed with a presentation from editors Eric Frederick and Thad Ogburn of the News & Observer. Ogburn somberly opened up to the audience about how modern-day journalism is changing and how it is up to us to keep it alive. He emphasized the necessity of our readers having trust in our publications and their authenticity. Frederick bounced back into a lighter mood, joking about an apocalyptic future with the arrival of sacrificing our privacy. After they closed, the attendees were dismissed to our sessions.

 The sessions were definitely the most interesting part. We participated in educational sessions of our choosing, ranging from topics like how to write headlines, to taking newsworthy pictures with your phone. In comparison to some of the more entertaining periods, the classes entailing the basics were not as eye-catching. Martha Quillin was a favored speaker, speaking for the Feature Writing session. She has worked for the News & Observer for more than thirty years. She spoke in detail about her experience working at site devastated by a hurricane and shared her experiences with us.

 At the end of the third and final session, the students were dismissed to the cafeteria for lunch. UNC blessed us with an all-you-can-eat buffet, and it certainly did not disappoint! My fellow staff members and I went for seconds and thirds of the delicious food. The ice cream was a fan favorite. We all sat down together rocking our matching shirts, chattering animatedly about our sessions. Soon enough, lunch flew by, and it was time to go home.

 Everyone had an amazing experience at J-Day this year, and I did too. “I loved how we learned more about journalism as a job and how we bonded more as a newspaper staff,” fellow Cat Talk member Savie Warren stated. Everyone was all smiling on the trip back to Millbrook. The field trip drew us closer together as a staff, and as a family, as we bonded over something we are all passionate about- youth journalism.