On most days, teen journalists are a range of things: editors, reporters, anchors, designers, poets, anything and everything. 

For the three days during which Florida’s annual scholastic press convention took place, though, what mattered most was that “they were FSPA.”

The annual Florida Scholastic Press Association convention took place from May 3 through May 5 at the Wyndham Resort in Orlando, Florida. This year’s theme was ‘I am FSPA,’ emphasizing that students are defined by their journalistic roles and ultimately unified by their collective. 

The convention is open to high school publications statewide and consists of competitions, workshops and activities. 

It was attended by almost 2,000 students and their advisers.

A staple of the convention is the opportunity it gives students to socialize with fellow high school journalists and gain inspiration for the coming school year. 

This aspect was present from the beginning, with a check-in area separate from the lobby full of schools arriving and friends reuniting by the first few hours. This continued and intensified through opening ceremonies, workshops, banquets, dances and down time.

For the second year in a row, socializing went beyond poolsides and resort hallways. There was a constant stream of commentary on Twitter under the #FSPA2012 hashtag, and several students made friends and spread the word in this fashion.

Twitter was also featured as an official competition throughout the convention. Students competed to deliver the best coverage and commentary in multimedia bursts of 140 words or less.

“That competition was my life for those three days. I took it very seriously. I was running around the resort and going behind the scenes the entire time,” senior Jonathan Reyes said. “It was the most hectic competition I’ve done in my four years at FSPA. In the end, though it was rewarding.

Reyes competed as part of The Viper Vibe and literary magazine Vox Vipera, but his priority throughout was the Twitter contest. He won first place.

Other competitions included carry-in layouts, on-the-spot writing and design and on-the-spot broadcast reporting. District 6, which encompasses the Miami-Dade school district, dominated the broadcast categories. Columbus High School’s CCNN placed first in the Edit to the Beat, Individual News Anchor, On-the-Spot News Package and Carry-In Show Intro competitions. They placed fourth in the overall Broadcast Sunshine Standout competition while Varela’s WVHS News placed third. 

The Vox Vipera placed third in On-the-Spot Literary Magazine production and in Carry-In Literary Magazine. 

This year, the convention transitioned from a vertical resort to one that was spread out across a more spacious property. Many guests found that this was a change for the worse as it made for a long walk between sessions.

“It was a nice resort aesthetically, but the layout of it was inconvenient at times,” Janelle Malagon, a junior representing The Viper Vibe, said. “We had to rush from our rooms to competitions to sessions, and sometimes that meant going from one end of the resort to the other.”

While FSPA will return to the Wyndham for their 2013 convention, their website reports that they are already addressing the issues with the resort in order to improve all guests’ experience next year. Changes are also coming to the convention itself, with less Carry-In contests and more Individual ones and a transition to electronic submissions.

Despite bumps in the road, many students came out of the convention satisfied. For the four Varela seniors who attended the convention for the last time this year, it was a bittersweet experience.

“As someone who has been involved with it during my entire high school career, I feel kind of empty knowing this was my last time there,” senior Joseph Cardenas said. “It gave me lots of memories and experiences and I’ll definitely miss it.”