I learned about NLGJA for the first time this April, and the discovery didn't come a moment too soon. I was about to graduate from the George Washington University with my journalism degree, but I still hadn't found my first job. Meanwhile, I felt alone and a little lost as I came to terms with strange and unfamiliar parts of who I am.
Matt Berger, then the D.C. chapter president, recommended that I apply for the chapter’s fellowship to attend “Breaking Stories, Breaking Waves," NLGJA's 2007 National Convention & 4th Annual LGBT Media Summit in San Diego. I applied and was later thrilled to learn I'd been awarded a fellowship.
“Breaking Stories, Breaking Waves" was both the first journalism convention and the first large-scale LGBT gathering I've ever been to. I made lots of professional connections – Orlando Sentinel reporter April Hunt and Christine Daniels of The Los Angeles Times were just two among many – but the convention's most liberating and empowering lesson for me was that there are as many ways to be LGBT as there are people. The friends and role models I found in every direction showed me that I can count on support wherever my true self takes me.
My time in San Diego was absolutely one of the highlights of my year. I'm grateful to Matt Berger for encouraging me to attend – and to NLGJA-DC for making it possible.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment