NCCWSL: Days One and Two --With Pictures!!!

Alright, so I finally found that silly cord, and got all of my pictures onto my computer from the NCCWSL conference. (Ps, people said it like "nick-whistle," which I found pretty cool).

Here we go - my D.C. and Maryland experience, with photos.

Day One:
The first night I got to Maryland was pretty laid back. We all got together in one of the dorms on the University of Maryland campus and had a little "getting-to-know-you" kind of night. We hung out, shared stories, and had little ice-breaker games. It was nice, and I met some cool girls. Then I went with three girls - Mara, Randy and Ericka (all from Minnesota) to wander around town in search of noodles. Seriously. We went to Noodles & Co. and talked for a while. Then I passed out back in my dorm room with Cruz, my roommate, also from Oswego.

Day Two:
We got up super early, with a ton of groaning and grumbling, and caught the bus to the Newseum in downtown D.C. One sleepy bus ride later, and we met up in a room in the ground floor for a little talk about the First Amendment, and then they let us walk around for about two hours. Cruz and I tried to see everything, but there was just sooooo much. We started on the top floor, on the terrace that has a spectacular view of the Capitol building and Pennsylvania Ave. Next, we saw the Hurricane Katrina exhibit - all front pages documenting the hurricane and its aftermath. It was pretty powerful - except for the middle schoolers running around it and trying to find their home states' papers... lots of screeching and pushing - so we kept walking.

The exhibits I was most excited to see were the 9/11 and Pulitzer Prize winning photos. We ended up seeing both, which was great. The 9/11 exhibit was very very powerful, with an antenna from one of the towers in the middle. It was all twisted and broken, and that against the front pages of papers showing the towers on fire was just... well, you get it.

The Pulitzer photos still remain my favorite, though. I could have spent all day just walking around and looking at them all. Ahhhh.
I wish I could have just stayed in there. Seriously, I want all of them in my house. I even tried to get the book the Newseum sells of copies of all of the photos but it was too expensive :(

When we got back to the campus, we went to opening speeches and things like that. They were all pretty interesting, and I met even more cool ladies. Then it was time for the Women of Distinction Awards ceremony and reception.
Connie Chung, Lisa Jackson, Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, Natalie Randolph, and Swanee Hunt were the winners this year, so we got to hear them all give really great speeches.

Then we had a little meet-and-greet with these fabulous women, so I got to talk to/shake hands with Connie Chung! Ahhhh, so cool. It was a great moment. I got a little shunted back and forth when I was trying to go up to her - because 500 college women in high heels all determined to touch Connie Chung can be a little vicious. But eventually I got up to her and my new friend Katy from NH and Alabama was kind enough to take a few pictures for me.