North Penn High School’s The Knight Crier and Accolade staff had the opportunity to attend the CSPA’s 83rd annual Fall Journalism Conference at Columbia University on November 6th.

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) hosts an annual Fall Conference at Columbia University every year. The conference offers students and advisers nationwide over 65 in-person sessions/lectures on key topics in the field of journalism such as writing, editing, leadership, design, photography, digital media, censorship, and correct legal practices. 

Being a part of North Penn’s The Knight Crier or Accolade staff is a unique extracurricular activity for students because they get the opportunity to strengthen their abilities as the year goes on. Most students join the class with little prior experience, paving the way for a lot to be learned through being a staff member. 

In discussion of the impact of the CSPA Conference, Editor in Chief of the Accolade Dylan Bamford said, “Getting professional advice from people [at Columbia University] helps bring the yearbook from good to great and helps us polish up skills.”

Co-editor in Chief of the Accolade, Emma Strahorn added: “[The sessions] helped the whole yearbook staff help incorporate new things, rather than just use the same old things year after year, and to help make a fun yearbook that everyone would enjoy and hopefully buy”.

Whether it be informative lectures on how to retain audience attention, interviewing and quoting people, or simply writing and designing a better publication, the variety of information from expert speakers at Columbia University is vastly functional. 

“The range of lectures students could attend gave everyone different pieces of information that could build on top of each other. Each session provided different useful advice,” Student-Life Editor Izzy Tubertini stated. 

As the new Accolade adviser for North Penn, this was Mrs. Lisa Lawler’s first trip to Columbia with the staff. 

“It was helpful for me to gain that new perspective on the resources available, I was hoping [the staff] would have an opportunity outside the classroom to bond and I was very much impressed with the different strategies and suggestions they came back with so I think it was a success,” Lawler said.