Annually, a convention called FSPA (Florida Scholastic Press Association) occurs where students from schools like Robinson, Hagerty, and even Steinbrenner High School have the chance to attend. This year, the theme was called “On the bright side” and was a contributing factor to many of the competitions and activities given. There, people can compete in contests related to broadcasting, story writing, screen writing, and photography. “I participated in only one competition which was the poetic one. I had to write an ode to a city here in Florida and I did Tampa,” freshman Hashley Godoy said. Starting from April 3 to 5, students worked together to complete their videos, stories, articles, and candid pictures.
“It was my first time going to FSPA, and I had much more fun than I had imagined I would. The environment was very fun and welcoming! I would highly recommend going if you have the opportunity to,” junior Lauren Jones said. The convention was filled with challenges, events, and activities which kept it all so exciting.
This year, the yearbook team, The Odyssey, and the newspaper team, The Oracle went to Orlando in the Renaissance Sea World Hotel to compete in contests and participate in events. The convention was broken up into 7 districts all assigned to a school and a color, Steinbrenner, was in districts 4 and 5 and was green. The districts then compete in a competition called color wars in which they give out points. There are a series of contests and events to participate in to bring up the district’s points. They offered a lip-sync battle, fundraiser, and social media challenges. Aside from competitions, the convention also provided vendors for students to engage in colleges, programs, and even little souvenirs from companies.
“Our district actually won color wars, so I was really excited about that…The vendors all had different little souvenirs to give out to the kids which was really cute in general,” Godoy stated. Students there were incredibly competitive and spirited to win for their district, which made the energy kept high. Also, the vendors were a wonderful way for students to find exciting things related to the world of journalism.
Coming from this experience, people had an amazing time meeting new people and getting insight into what journalism, broadcasting, and writing could be. FSPA has given kids a chance to show their skills through the contests provided and taught new material in the sessions there. “It was fun meeting people from other schools because we are all in the same profession and everyone is so sweet and not afraid to talk, be interviewed, photographed, and more because they also do it themselves,” sophomore Amelia Deen stated. In all, the FSPA trip in Orlando was a great adventure for all!
