Student says NBTB offers “a new perspective on reporting and the world”

“Much like in the professional field of journalism, NBTB offered me countless opportunities to meet fascinating people with intriguing stories to tell. Throughout the week, meeting in the lounge for the evening speaker was one of the highlights of my day. From Nick Ferentinos and how his paper made history in the 1980s, to Scott Landis and how he transformed the future of digital publication, I was captivated by the speakers’ stories every night and awestruck from realizing all of the possibilities that pursuing journalism has to offer.

“My experience at Newsroom by the Bay has also prepared me to expand my own school’s newspaper, currently entirely print publication-based, onto the Internet. My morning classes, especially those led by journalist and Pacemaker-awarding winner Michelle Balmeo, introduced me to all of the features that website publishing has to offer.

“What’s great about this program is that it takes the type of traditional reporting that we’re familiar with from experience on our individual school newspapers and brings it into the year 2012, where technology is playing a larger role in society every day. From day one, we were encouraged and granted the resources to explore video reporting, multimedia photography, and the incorporation of social networking into our stories.

“For me, the best part of NBTB was the people. The program’s directors and newsgroup leaders all come from very successful backgrounds and have countless brilliant stories to share, but they’re so approachable that I never once felt intimidated. Among the 56 students, I made so many amazing new friends that I know I’ll keep in touch with. From spending movie nights in the Ujamaa lounge, eating lunch on the beautiful patio of Lagunitas Court, and enjoying ice cream together in Palo Alto, by the end of the week, we were all a very close-knit group.

“Overall, Newsroom by the Bay was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget. For 9 days, 71 people who came from diverse backgrounds and who have diverse passions were brought together by their interest in the field of journalism. I learned so much that I’ll take home to improve my own newspaper but also walked away with new relationships and a new perspective on reporting and the world in general that I’ll always value. I will definitely be recommending this program to others on LHS’s newspaper staff.”