D.C. trip wrap up

Looking back a week later I’ve had some time to let everything I’ve learned sink in. One of the biggest takeaways I took that the week was to devote more time to my social media accounts. I had no idea just how important it was. I was also very impressed with the overwhelming push to create a more diverse work environment. Brent Lewis from the Undefeated started diversify.photo, a platform to find and hire awesome photographers of color. We heard from multiple people on the trip that they use platform for hiring all the time. The lack of diversity in the photojournalism industry has been troublesome, but knowing that even big newsrooms like NRP and Washington Post are actively trying to combat this by hiring more women and people of color is exciting.

Everyone talked about the importance of maintaining connections and keeping in touch, but seeing the the amount of RIT alumni who are working in D.C. really put it into perspective. Nearly every place we went had an RIT alum working there, so keeping in touch with your peers really can pay off. Donny Bajohr got his job at Smithsonian Magazine by keeping in touch with Quentin Nardi. It’s really encouraging to see RIT grads doing great things.

After this trip I want to stay in touch with RIT alum Nikki Walker from NPR, Brent Lewis from The Undefeated, Kainaz Amaria from Vox, and MaryAnne Golon from Washington Post. All of these places are doing a lot of work in mobile platforms and utilizing the vast array of media consumption platforms to find new and innovative ways to tell stories. It’s the way the world is moving and I’m excited to be a part of finding out new ways to reach an audience.