STUDENTS NETWORK TO GET A JOB AFTER COLLEGE

By: Brittney Steele 

The annual Excellence in Journalism Conference changes location each year. Attendees travel from five minutes to 5,000 miles to get there.

This year, Melissa Munoz, a Fresno State senior, traveled fifteen hundred miles to San Antonio to attend the conference also known as EIJ. It was a trip of firsts for Munoz: first plane ride, first EIJ, and her first time in San Antonio. 

“I am overwhelmed,” Munoz said. 

It’s easy to feel this pressure. With thousands of professional journalists, educators, recruiters, and students at the conference, there is a lot to see and do. Students are given the opportunity to connect with possible future employers, get advice on how to get a job, and improve their storytelling through workshops, critiques, and other conference sessions.  

“So far I’ve already spoken to multiple people,” Munoz said.

EIJ is a three all-day conference filled with workshop sessions taught by professional journalists, critique sessions with news directors, and networking with dozens of news outlets and networks. It is all worth it to the students. 

“I was more on the hesitant side, but, I am so glad I came. I am so glad that I met everyone here and got those connections.”

Being a member of Fresno State’s Radio TV Digital News Association (RTDNA) provided Munoz the opportunity for this trip. She will use what she has learned in her classes, and keep in touch with those she met at the conference.