With good work comes pride; with pride comes good work.
While at a weeklong journalism conference with 50 other Free Spirit Scholars, I learned the difference between pride and external recognition. During the summer of 2016, we explored Washington D.C., attended conferences led by professionals and bonded over all-you-can-eat meals.
Created in honor of Al Neuharth, the founder of USA TODAY, and partnered with the Newseum, the Free Spirit conference was created to unite the country’s best young journalists (one from every state and the District of Columbia) and to educate them about pursuing careers in journalism. In those five days, I had the opportunity to meet a high school journalist representing each state and the D.C.
The one thing that stood out to me, during the trip, was the pride and confidence that every scholar had when presenting their own publication.
A normal introduction with a Free Spirit Scholar would go a little something like this: “Hi. My name is ____. I am from ____ and I’m the Editor-in-Chief of my publication ____.”
No matter who you asked, he or she had the same introduction. For some reason, the Editors-in-Chief (from whichever state or district) thought that it was important for us to know what position they held. Whenever the Editors-in-Chief asked a question during the conference, they would always introduce themselves the same way.
At one point, I found myself questioning my abilities and admittance to the conference. There were 49 other Editor-in-Chiefs in the same room as me. The Free Spirit Conference was created for the country’s best young journalists, but here I was a journalist without the title of Editor-in-Chief. They should’ve chosen my Editor-in-Chief.
But they were just other high school publications, after all. I reflected on my own publication, The Lion’s Roar, and why I held the same pride and confidence that the Editors-in-Chief did. I believed my small, print publication in Newton, Massachusetts was noteworthy. We produced our paper for 1,800 students, 150 teachers and a handful of subscribers, but none of the 50 scholars knew where Newton was or what The Roar was.
So, why had I held so much pride in a publication that I held a small role in?
As managing editor of The Roar, I was different from all of the other scholars. I didn’t hold the same “Editor-in-Chief” title that they did, but I did harbor the same pride; I was proud of the work we produced.
It was my responsibility to teach newcomers, but it didn't mean I stopped learning. I continued to produce papers almost every month because I was interested in improving my own skill sets. Every issue brought its own surprises and required hard work, but I didn’t continue to work because of the title. I learned to see passed the byline, masthead, and title and chose to focus on the importance behind my work.
I worked hard to create what we printed in the paper and that was why The Roar held a great importance in my own life. I was proud of The Roar as a publication because I knew how hard I worked to create something that was above my own expectations.
For me, the best part about being an editor for the school newspaper was ‘paper day.’ Every paper day, staff distributed 50 stacks of 20 papers around the school. At 7:40, you would find rows of students consumed by the 24-page, inky paper. Listening to the turn of each page with a crinkle and leftover black ink splotches on my hands, made paper day the most rewarding.
Although The Roar didn't hold a significant importance for any of the other 50 scholars, the hard work was what made the job meaningful.
The Free Spirit Conference gave me the opportunity to befriend people from other states with different experiences, meet professionals and reflect on my own dedication to a small school publication. External recognition is an extrinsic motive but it isn’t enough. For me, pride in my own hard work motivates me to work even harder.
So, Free Spirit taught me something outside of the sessions: I did belong among the 50 other Free Spirit Scholars because I too was passionate about a publication, leadership, and journalism.
Photo: Pexels
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