As I reflect on my high school experiences and write my college essays, I am reminded of the week I spent in Washington DC this past summer at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference.

The 6-day conference, sponsored by the Newseum, brings together student journalists from all over the country to learn more about the First Amendment from media experts, such as Susan Page of USA Today and Gwen Ifill of PBS NewsHour. The conference is named after the late Al Neuharth, who founded USA Today and created the program to aid “free spirited” journalists in their future endeavors.  One student representative from each state and the District of Columbia is selected to attend the conference, and the conference pays for all of the expenses, including the hotel, transportation, and meals. I had the honor of representing Virginia.

When I arrived at the conference, I was anxious about the days ahead. It was my first time traveling alone and I didn’t really know my fellow Free Spirits. Although we had communicated on Facebook before the conference, I wasn’t sure what they would be like. If anything, I was intimidated. One of the Free Spirits wrote for Huffington Post, and others had award-winning websites. Some of the Free Spirits came from large staffs and had even been editor-in-chief starting their junior year. Simply put, it was an impressive crowd.

As it turned out, all of the Free Spirits were incredibly friendly and eager to learn more about journalism and media.

The week went by as we traveled around the capital and visited places like Congress, NBC studios, and the USA Today headquarters. Most sessions, however, were hosted in the upper floors of the Newseum at the Knight Conference Center. The large glass windows and sunny weather allowed us to take in the city around us, from the National Gallery and the Washington Monument to the Canadian embassy and Capitol building.

At its core, the conference was about the First Amendment and how journalists, and citizens in general, use their rights in a free society. All of the speakers were First Amendment warriors and their sessions equipped the Free Spirits with the skills they need to be movers and shakers in the future.

One experience that really stands out to me from the conference was the “Free Spirits Who Helped to Reshape Society” session, in which Congressman John Lewis and Freedom Rider Dr. Rip Patton discussed how they exercised their First Amendment freedoms during the Civil Rights movement. I had read Lewis’ book, Walking With the Wind,  for my AP U.S. History class and studied the movement as an outsider, but it was enlightening to hear these insiders share their takeaways and lasting impressions.

The most amazing part was when Lewis shared his attitude toward his aggressors and he said, “I don’t have any bitterness, any ill feelings, and I feel free.” Over 50 years after the movement’s heyday, John Lewis is firm in his convictions of peace and compassion.

Another memorable experience was a simulation of the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case, which was a landmark case from 1988 in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of limitations on student journalism. We traveled to one of the federal courthouses for the simulation and U.S. District Court Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth presided over the trial, in which I had the privilege of serving as one of the attorneys. Prior to the conference and the trial, I hadn’t considered student speech to be controversial, but the Free Spirit conference opened my eyes to both sides of the debate.

Working with three other Free Spirits, I developed arguments to defend a school who wanted to censor student speech on social media. While I don’t agree with limitations on the freedom of speech, I have a better idea of the challenges administrators face.

Thanks to the trial and a presentation by the Student Press Law Center, I now support the #CureHazelwood movement and want to expand student press rights at the state level.

But the most rewarding experience – the single aspect of the conference more valuable than the guest speakers, the trips, and the free food – was making friends who share my passion for media and communications. I now have 50 friends, 50 Free Spirits, who I can count on for guidance and support. We’ve formed a network that each of us can count on for inspiration and feedback, as well as fun activities like Secret Santa.

When I went to the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in November, it was exciting to reunite with Free Spirits and catch up with each other. Several of us are hoping to go to college in D.C., but in the meantime,  some of the Free Spirits have been up to amazing things, like traveling around the world, visiting the White House, and conducting in-depth investigations.

It’s fair to say that after a week of learning, tweeting and conversing, we left the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference feeling inspired for the future and ready to exercise our First Amendment rights.