Clear blue skies and beautiful weather were not the only reasons to be in Orlando.

Over 6,100 student journalists from all over the world convened in Disneyland for the 2015 Fall National High School Journalism Convention (NHSJC) with a theme of “Media Magic.”

Six publication staffers and Mrs. Rachel Rauch, adviser, flew to Orlando, Fla. on Wednesday, Nov. 11 to participate in the NHSJC held in the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort.

On Thursday, Nov. 12, the team of staffers had the opportunity to visit Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and to utilize their journalistic skills to cover a story. “Going to the Magic Kingdom gave me the chance to have a lot of fun while working journalistically by interviewing Disney employees,” Emma Wade, senior, said.

Katya Mikhailenko, junior, composed a video of the day spent at Magic Kingdom. Sydney Crivello, junior, put her camera to use. “I took pictures of the places we visited and of the different parts of the convention to tell people stories about the various things we saw and learned about,” Crivello said.

Over the next two days, the Highlander journalists attended classes centered around writing, design and photography. Accumulating different perspectives and fresh ideas inspired the staffers to apply their newly obtained knowledge to their publications back home.

“At the convention, I realized how essential the First Amendment is if one wants an informed society,” Hannah O’Leary, junior, said. “Journalism is truly the best way to spread information, both positive and negative.”

The most recent issue of the Highlanders’ newsmagazine placed tenth in the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) Best of Show category.

All six student journalists participated in contests, and three of them earned awards. Mikhailenko walked away with the Superior Award in newsmagazine layout while Sasha Milbeck, sophomore, earned honorable mention in newswriting and Crivello in student life yearbook photography.

Milbeck earned her award in an impromptu write-off competition during convention where she and 160 other journalists listened to a live speaker on the topic of NASA. “The contest was extremely nerve-wracking, but overall, it was a great opportunity to practice on-the-spot writing with over 100 other journalists,” Milbeck said.

Abbi Passey, junior attendee, is “extremely grateful for the informative experience. [She] plans on taking the knowledge she gained and applying it to all aspects of her journalism practice.”

Another highlight of the convention was Mrs. Rauch receiving the Dow Jones News Fund (DJNF) Distinguished Adviser Award at Saturday’s award luncheon. Mrs. Rauch was one of the runners-up to Mr. Mitch Eden, an adviser from Missouri, who won DJNF National Journalism Teacher of the Year. All applicants’ materials are scored and then the top scorer wins DJNF Teacher of the Year, a handful win Distinguished Adviser Awards with a handful winning special recognition.