Students from across New Jersey came together for Del Val’s annual Hunterdon County Student Media Convention on Feb. 26. The convention featured a variety of guest speakers and professionals trained in media-based roles.
This was the convention’s fourth year running. It began as a project for Del Val English teacher and The Delphi adviser Brian Smith.
“The convention’s a celebration of Student Press Freedom Day,” Smith said. “We, as Americans, even high schoolers, have our First Amendment rights to express ourselves, but a lot of people don’t practice them.”
This year’s convention was attended by students from Del Val as well as Bernards, Piscataway and Hunterdon Central High School.
“We have all these kids from different schools, all these guest speakers who you’ve never seen or met before that are sharing their unique experiences that you can’t learn in a traditional classroom,” Smith said.
The convention provided students across New Jersey opportunities to socialize and get to know one another better, along with learning more about different forms of media.
“You can be around other like-minded individuals, with people who have the same opinions on certain topics,” Gabriella Diaz, a Del Val sophomore attendee, said. “So, you can kind of understand more about a field you’re interested in with people who agree with you.”
Meaghan Murphy, an Emmy-winning writer and television personality, was featured as the keynote speaker.
Murphy’s speech discussed the importance of chasing what you find interesting and letting your writing adapt as your life changes.
“I really enjoy giving somebody a voice and a spotlight to share their voice,” Murphy said. “I just sort of fell in love with journalism and media and telling stories and then consistently chased what was exciting to me.”
Other speakers included professionals in the journalism, yearbook, creative writing and broadcasting industries.
“I think it’s important to give students different tastes of how their future could go and to show that there’s not just one way that your career path could go,” Kairi Lambert, a sophomore taking TV Media and Narrative Journalism at Del Val, said.
A few notable Del Val alumni returned to the high school for the convention.
Connor Mills, a former member of DVTV, hosted two sessions: “Mastering Play-by-Play: Prep, Delivery, and Sideline Storytelling in Sports Broadcasting” and “Essentials of Modern Journalism.”
His sessions dove into sports commentary, along with storytelling through multiple different platforms.
Riley Eisenbeil, who graduated Del Val in 2020, also hosted memorable sessions. Eisenbeil discussed creating graphics, writing strong ledes and journalism across different platforms.
“Journalism has a lot of transferable skills,” Eisenbeil said. “You’re learning to come out of your shell a little bit more, to talk to people, to push yourself to be a better writer, to take risks.”
The convention was planned by both Smith and a committee of Del Val media students.
“I’m extremely proud of the planning committee and the work that they did this year,” Smith said. “We really stepped up, and they took on a lot of responsibility.”
Many students felt the event was a positive experience and are looking forward to next year’s convention, which is planned for Feb. 25, 2027. They are excited to put the skills they learned into practice.
“One valuable thing I learned today is that opportunities aren’t just gonna come to you, and you’re never gonna be ready,” Diaz said. “You just have to seize the moment and make the opportunity yourself.”
