Inside ProCon 2025: My Experience with Penmen Press in NYC
Southern New Hampshire University’s student newspaper club, Penmen Press attended ProCon 2025 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Photo by Selina Marcille.
I did it. I found my way back to New York City. This time, for free! Last week, I went to ProCon: Spring National College Media Convention with the Penmen Press, the student newspaper at Southern New Hampshire University.
I joined as a member of the Penmen Press in January, with only a semester before I graduate in May. I knew that I would benefit from learning the editing process from start to finish, getting feedback from my peers, and potentially having published works accredited to SNHU.
I’ve been lugging around this distrust in my work my entire college career, and I am slowly starting to let go of the self-deprecation. A part of my progress is fully reaping the benefits of criticism, reframing my own discontent into an opportunity to improve. Joining Penmen Press allowed me to have a shift in focus, rather than dwelling on what I should have done in the past, I’ve decided to take every prospect and absorb the information now before it is too late.
I didn’t start contemplating the trip until days before departing. As I packed up my bag, I stressed out about what I was going to wear, if my outfits were business-casual enough, if I had packed too much, or too little. I picked up my phone to send a text. I was quicky reminded that I barely knew anyone going on this trip. I knew of some of the members from previous courses or saw them at the first few meetings, but I knew I would have to make an effort to connect with this team, make myself known, and give this team reasons to trust me.
As our team of eight stepped off the bus and exited Port Authority Bus Terminal, each student looked awestruck at the skyscrapers, the colorful screens, and the swarms of slow tourists and pissed-off natives occupying the sidewalks. The group exhibited this urgency to get inside, fearful of the world around them. I, conditioned to the city environment, was much more fearful of what awaited inside.
ProCon 2025 was a convention with speakers working in journalism to PR to literary magazines, taking place at the Marriott Marquis, steps away from the middle of Times Square. Student newspapers from across the country gathered to gain insight, show of their own hard work, and to network with fellow students and industry professionals.
The nerves soon turned into fascination. I expected to dislike the lengthy presentations and the speakers desperately seeking participation, but I ended up gaining far more than I anticipated. I saw in the speakers who I aspired to be and frantically took notes as they gave insights on the topic and their past experiences.
Emily Bloch, a national news reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, spoke in multiple sessions, two of which I was able to attend. In “How to Cover a Music Festival Before You’re Old Enough to Drink at One”, covers the process of preparing, executing, and writing about a 13-band festival. She gave industry tips on how to get the scoop, who and what to look out for, and unconventional ways to construct a story from a short interview.
In her session, “Life’s Too Short for Boring Social Media,” Bloch critiques attending student newspapers’ social media posts, displaying the before and after of dull, insignificant posts that she transforms into captivating, clickable article announcements. She prefaces the session saying that she is no graphic designer, and with tools like Canva, a person with no experience can still lead an audience to their newspaper through creative content.
Michael Koretzky, a journalist on the Ethics Chair for the Society of Professional Journalists, led a session called, “Chicken Salad: Radical Redesign and Rewriting”, where he ripped apart student newspapers. He began with asking his audience what catches – or doesn’t catch, their eyes, giving out one-dollar coins for participation. He left his audience cacking at his silly, yet effective redesigns, and he addressed topics like making the wrong choice for the front-page story and catering the newspaper design to the stories trying to be portrayed.
One session that left a lasting impression with me was, “7 Secrets to Early Career Success” led by Carla Correa and Bill Ruthhart, both seasoned industry professionals working at New York Times. This session minimized my heightened worries about pursuing a career in journalism, especially as a college senior who has barely dipped her toe into the writing pond. I needed to hear phrases like “careers are built over years,” and “if you are in a good space outside of work, it’ll reflect in your work.”
ProCon 2025, originally meant to be a last-minute trip and my way back to the city, ended up being a trip that I didn’t want to end. I ended up loving the things I thought I was going to hate speaking up in front of a group of people, finding my way into an already established club community, and networking with intimidating people. I surprised myself, and the trip reminded me to take the sporadic moments as they come.
