On Thursday October 11, hundreds of journalism students came together at CSU for the annual J-Day. Various sessions were held at the Lory Student Center for newspaper, yearbook and broadcasting. These sessions allowed the students to learn different aspects of each area of journalism and give the programs a chance to grow and thrive.

Each individual could attend three sessions which were forty minutes in length. Classes consisted of writing, photography, design, coverage etc. and helped individuals learn more about their area of journalism.

Katie Congrove, a junior from Brighton High school, attended the state conference in order to learn more about being a yearbook editor.

“This is my third year at J-Day, and by far the best since there are different sessions and better speakers than previous years.  Next year, I will be editor-in-chief, so it is important that I learn how to be a good leader and fully understand what goes into a yearbook,” Congrove said.

At the end of the day, there was an award ceremony which announced All-Colorado and Best of Show winners. Lewis-Palmer High School brought home three awards. The broadcasting program won third place Best of Show, and the Westwind yearbook staff won third place Best of Show for photographs and captions and All-Colorado.

“It felt pretty awesome when we won two awards for yearbook since one of my photos was submitted for Best of Show, and knowing mine was good enough to help win with my peers was great. Winning All-Colorado was cool because I put a lot of time and work into that book and it all paid off,”  sophomore yearbook sports editor Trevor Wilch said.

LPTV’s freshman Ryan Hunt, was shocked when he heard their name called for Best of Show.  Hunt made the introduction for LP-TV and took part in the broadcast as well.

“It’s a lot more personal for me since my work impressed the judges. It is great to know that LP-TV is high enough to win awards. I definitely learned more techniques to interviewing and how to be more successful in journalism,” Hunt said.

The state-wide conference gave each area of journalism an opportunity to learn and grow as well as bringing students together in a fun and educational way.