The Shreveport Journalism Foundation’s conference took place on the first floor of the technology building at LSUS where attendees were first met with coffee, juice, and pastries to snack on while becoming familiar with each other. The opening address was given by John Lieberman who was then joined by Gregg Trusty, co-founder of SJF. Professor Mary “Jorji” Jarzabek was in attendance and was surprised with a lifetime achievement award for her work within SJF. Her honor and shock was apparent as she covered her mouth and showed off the award, giving her sincere thanks to Lieberman. After this, students were given a chance to present a project they made as a part of a contest for the Mary “Jorji” Jarzabek Award in Excellence, where two people would be awarded $250. 

The student panel started with NSU’s newspaper, The Current Sauce, Editor-in-Chief, Kallie Bourgeois who presented an interview done with NSU Alumnus Sherman Desselle [3]. Kallie was then followed by The Current Sauce’s viewpoints editor, Phillip Voorhees, who presented his article “Generantion-Z: Pessimistic or just Realistic [4]?” Anna Beth Scales, The Almagest’s upcoming Editor-in Chief, then presented a more detailed version of their article “Misinformation, Algorithmic Echo Chambers, and the Positive Side of Social Media Journalism. [5]” Up next was a group presentation from NSU students, Martha Sierra and Leonardo Donado, who explained the importance of representation for bilingual and bicultural people, [6] as well as sharing their video on the new Columbian Food Truck in Natchitoches, with an interview from the owner. Last but not least, The Almagest  reporter, Brandon McWilliams, shared a news video he made on the building of AI data centers in Shreveport. 

Members of the crowd were each given a sheet to leave their own reviews on the presentation, rating based on novelty, timeliness, organization, and impact. Professor Jarzabek, Professor Basak Kavakli, John Lieberman, and Gregg Trusty then met to evaluate crowd data as well as determine who the winners of the awards would be, but before announcing the winners, Kalli Combs gave a presentation on her journey to starting her social media marketing company, Social Pal Kal, as well as the importance of sharing your story.

Lastly, awards were given. According to Professor Jarzabek, Anna Beth Scales won the crowd by a landslide, and was granted first place. In second place, came NSU’s Phillip Voorhees, who, according to the judges, did an excellent job staying engaging with the audience. Both students were given checks for $250. All presenters were celebrated and undoubtedly the conference can be recorded as a success.