Yesterday, the Memorial Union played host to the Northern Interscholastic Press Association, an organization that hosts events for high school journalists across the state.

The Dakota Student managing/opinion editor, Will Beaton and I had the pleasure of presenting on college journalism to the conference attendees. I have to say, it was strange to look across a room with, essentially, mini-me’s.

I too once attended NIPA conferences. They were some of the first places I interacted with other journalists my age. They were where I heard professional journalists speak for the first time. They were where I got a lot of my passion.

I loved those conferences. Not only did we get out of school for the day (which, if we’re being honest, was a huge factor) but I got a chance to grow as a journalist. Being asked back as presenter was a huge honor.

It was also a little terrifying. There’s a part of me that still relates very closely to that high school kid that got unloaded off of a bus in front of the Union once a year. It seems strange that this place I visited is now my home.

Standing up in front of those kids was a little intimidating, but it was even more humbling. The papers they put out are comprehensive and intense pieces of work. They may not get paid for their work, but they’re sure acting like getting the news is their j-o-b.

Standing up there, I remembered: Those mini-me’s are the future.

Picture: A selfie with my former high school newspaper adviser, Sue Skalicky from Bismarck Century High School. Both of us presented at the 2013 Fall NIPA conference.