The annual College Media Association conference trip to New York City was filled with many highs, some lows (only for playing the game purposes) and lots of buffaloes for the group of nine Spartan newspaper students and Communications professor Dave Blow.

Their journey began at 5:45 a.m. on a Thursday morning, followed by a four-and-a-half-hour ride into the Big Apple.

On night one of the trip, while sitting around a table at the “Perfect Pint” Irish pub, Web Editor and student Jessica Emery suggested the high-low-buffalo game and shared details of day, along with a fun random story – A.K.A. a buffalo.

Others then followed with their highs, lows and buffaloes from the day too. By the end of the three-day trip, the group had more buffalos then they could count.

And it was another strong year for the Spartan as it won second place in the 2025 “Best Newspaper” Apple Awards category for Division III.

This marked the seventh national award for the Spartan since 2017. For four out of the nine students, it was their first time attending the C.M.A. conference.

“I haven’t even been to New York City before, so it was honestly just a really good opportunity and I made a lot of career connections, as well as friendships that left me fulfilled and happy,” Copy Editor Emily Ely said.

Sportswriter Lauren Fotter was also a first-time attendee of the trip, and even though she does not plan to go into journalism, she gained a lot of new information from a variety of people that she can use in her future career.

Jackson Edwards, who writes opinion pieces and sports stories, said he liked the ability to network at the conference.

“I was really impressed by the engagement from all the students, including our own. It wasn’t just sitting down and listening to someone smart, it was intelligent students engaging with people who work in a field that they are inspired to be in, and it was just inspiring on all counts,” he said.

A highlight of the trip for some was getting the opportunity to speak in front of a large group of people on two different occasions.

The first came when Blow and students Gabby Blanchard and Maddie Lindgren spoke during a panel touting their efforts producing community journalism through the Center for Community News.

“I loved seeing how interested the audience seemed to be while they asked us questions after we were asked up,” Blow said. “I was just very proud to stand in front of a room with students and tout what we are doing, because I am very proud of what we are doing. And then Em asking a question at the keynote was really neat as well. I didn’t know she was going to do it then all a sudden, I see her with a microphone in her hand.”

Ely said she really enjoyed getting the opportunity to ask the speaker, Sree Sreenivasan, a question in front of the big crowd during the “What AI will really mean for media jobs” keynote session.

“I could tell he was very knowledgeable about the subject, and I appreciated how honest he was,” Ely said.

The conference offers a large variety of sessions throughout the three days of the trip, allowing students to make connections and learn more about media.

“I made a great connection with a journalist, Emily Bloch, who has written for Teen Vouge and Cosmopolitan, so I reached out,” Emery said.

Emery shared how Blow had texted her separately after he had met Bloch himself, and explained how he was telling the Philadelphia Inquirer journalist about the work Emery has done. Bloch was very impressed, and it led to her responding to Emery with future plans to chat.

“It’s so inspiring to see people accomplishing what I want to do because Castleton doesn’t see a lot of pop culture stories so it is really cool meeting other people who can show me that there is something out there for me,” Emery said.

Previous managing editor of the Spartan, Peal Bellomo, said that her favorite presentation was from Mark Simon, the host of the Journalism Salute podcast. He played excerpts from some of his favorite episodes and lessons learned from those journalists. She thought the concept was really cool and unique and plans on listening to the podcast herself.

Sports editor Stone Stelzl also found inspiration during the conference.

“It is really cool to hear people in the field of journalism talk about something I am passionate about and give tips I can use towards my career in the future,” he said.

The Spartans left many impressions in New York this year, including from Ely who, as a way to receive more professional connections, made personal business cards to hand out to speakers at the event.

“The speaker at the Community Journalism session, Richard Watts, gave some of us a job opportunity after the impression we made,” said Spartan Managing Editor Maddie Lindgren.

Even though the trip is intended to be focused on the conference, of course there is room for a little fun and exploring too.

“Although Jackson and I had a rough first day being sick and all, being able to be out with everybody on Friday was 10 times better and made the trip so worth it,” Stelzl said.

On the second day of the trip, six of the students went to Brooklyn for the afternoon, which ended up being one the biggest highlights for them overall.

“Brooklyn was amazing, and I have never been before,” Lindgren said.

“Me either and then I went twice by accident,” page designer and editorial cartoonist Joe Vyvial added. “I took the subway to West Village and forgot to take the exit, then I saw myself on top of the Manhattan bridge.”

With perfect weather the whole trip, Vyvial experienced many highs including a sandwich at the famed Katz’s Delicatessen. But above all, “The View” restaurant and bar at the top of the Marriott Marquis and the Brooklyn trip took first place on his list.

The View slowly spins to offer an incredible view of the city but had been unavailable for the last five years for renovations.

“The rooftop bar was such a unique experience,” Bellomo added.

There was also a karaoke experience in Greenwich with great voices – and not so great ones too – which Edwards said was perhaps his favorite part of the trip.

Fotter “ate” as the students say, with the song “Popular” from the Wicked soundtrack. As the lyrics started blasting through the speakers of the bar, all eyes were on her by the first “popular” in the song.

“I loved that every time we went out or did anything, the goal was to have conversations with each other no matter what, and I am glad there was not much separation,” Emery said.

Overall, the trip was a great bonding experience for all and eye-opening to say the least. It saddens the team to hear that next year will be the last year that the conference is held in New York, leaving uncertainty for future trips from the Spartans.

But for now, Blow is just savoring another successful venture to the city with students, his 17th.

“I always love getting to know the students on a different level during this trip,” Blow said, “And it’s neat for me to be able to open eyes about what New York is. It’s just so vast and has so much to offer.”