Morgan Watkins - Vice President
Hey all,
We had our first UF SPJ two meetings of the year this month, and we wanted to give you a rundown of all the fun we had at the first meeting for those of you who missed it. As for those of you who came (and there were a lot of you), this post will just give you a chance to relive the excitement!
We held our first event at Weimer Hall, and UF professor Mike Foley gave a great talk to our returning and future members about why SPJ is a club that’s worth being in and about the future of journalism as he sees it. He told us stories about what it was like to meet Ted Bundy, as well as about the time he had to cover a story on an escaped metal patient and was ducked behind a police car while shots pelted the other side of the vehicle. He talked about why journalism matters and why we’re lucky to have such a strong SPJ chapter that offers great programs and networking opportunities.
The best part of the meeting was probably when we gave students the chance to ask Foley some of their questions. It turned into an interesting discussion about the direction of journalism and about Foley’s experiences as a reporter and editor over the years at the St. Petersburg Times.
After Foley’s talk, we introduced all of the officers to the students and told them about several opportunities and events coming up for the UF SPJ crowd. These include a peer-to-peer mentoring program that we are getting up and running, upcoming Gator football fundraisers and even a club T-shirt design contest.
All in all, the event was a great way to kick off the new school year for SPJ. We loved seeing so many familiar and brand-new faces and can’t wait to start on all the great projects we have cooked up for this semester!
Until next time,
Morgan
