So I’m sitting at a dinner table in the ballroom of the Clarion Hotel in downtown Columbia, SC at the awards ceremony of the BCCA’s 13th Annual National HBCU Student News Media Conference with some staff members and our advisor, Professor Lewis Smith.
The mood of the ceremony is fairly pleasant, as I’ve just delivered the opening prayer prior to our meal of grilled chicken breast smothered with rice and gravy and steamed veggies, and we had the luxury of listening to a keynote address from Alicia Barnes of ABC Columbia.
Dr. Valerie White of FAMU takes the stage and delivers the moment we’ve all been awaiting since our arrival to Columbia; the announcing of the awards.
After last year’s embarrassing competition results in Jackson, Miss., my hometown, in which we received one honorable mention for Ronald Smith’s photography, the only award given in the category, I was motivated and determined to not let history repeat itself.
However, at this point there’s nothing I could really do considering the fact that the competition materials were already submitted months in advance. With butterflies in my stomach and sweaty palms, all I could merely hope for at this point were my frequent disturbing nightmares of us not being awarded at all, being reality.
I hated those nightmares and the cold sweat they would produce at night, but I love them simultaneously, because fueled my grind.
She gives the honorable mention, third place, and second place awards. As hungry as I was at that point, I don’t even recall who the schools were, as my attention was devoted to my dinner plate. Suddenly, the most surprising thing happened as she uttered the words, “And the first place award for Best Spot News Story is awarded to…The Panther, Prairie View A&M University!”
My eyes almost rolled onto the dinner plate as my staff members and the rest of the attendees were parading in excitement.
I even had to take a sip of water to regain my wind, because I knew this was the most important moment in the history of the student newspaper thus far, and as Editor in Chief I had bragging rights.
However, the sense of achievement overshadowed feelings of arrogance and I humbled myself as I reflected on our newly found success.
To Whitney Harris, YOU GO GIRL! After all the battles you and I had last year, something paid off.
To Lewis Smith, Thanks Big Guy! We couldn’t do it without your wisdom and humor on production nights.
To Student Activities, we’re putting on for PV, officially. Know that, respect that, and cherish your student newspaper as it continues to prosper among the ranks of the best in the nation.
To the student body, better known as, PV NATION, thank you for being supportive patrons of the craft I’ve become obsessed with. This is your student newspaper, and we’re always on the SPOT.