I have a charmed life. There is no denial when it comes to admitting how incredibly fortunate I am to have been given amazing experiences in my young life. As I sat on a charter bus in Washington D.C., the sun flickering through the passing trees with the Washington monument rising up into view from a distance, I had no idea that I was on the verge of the most powerful, extraordinary happening in my life.

The Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Journalism Conference had begun. From March 15 - 20 the program, which commemorates the still-living USA Today and Freedom Forum founder Al Neuharth, flew out one male and one female student journalist from every state for an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. Students were selected from each state through a competitive application process, and each were given a $1,000 scholarship for college.

"We have the best and brightest student journalists from every state," Freedom Forum president Charles Overby said at the beginning of the conference.

I was one of those chosen students, and this is my account of the most educational and exciting experience I have ever had.

Saturday, March 15

I boarded my flight to Washington D.C. not knowing what to expect. Here I was, alone, traveling to a city I was unfamiliar with to meet people I didn't know. 101 other top-performing student journalists, media moguls and politicians were on the other end of that flight. I was ecstatic.

The preparation required for this trip was demanding, with five required readings including "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert's novel "Letters From Our Fathers," "Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)," by Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines (which publishes "Cosmopolitan," "Esquire," "Harper Bazaar" and "O, The Oprah Magazine"), and the autobiography of Al Neuharth, "Confessions of an S.O.B." These books, along with others had been mailed to us in the weeks leading up to the trip, each personally signed by its author.

Upon arrival in Washington D.C. I met the other Colorado scholar, Laurelin Kruse of Alamosa, who became my companion and rock in the chaos that followed.

Meeting the other 101 scholars at the Washington D.C. Marriot hotel felt like speed dating, or what I imagine speed dating would feel like. Introducing myself, I tried to absorb each scholars name and home state but the vast amount of people I met, and trying to take in my first impressions of the city proved too overwhelming. Thank God for name tags.

Washington D.C. was nothing like I imagined. Driving in from Dulles International Airport on our charter bus my heart soared when I saw the Washington monument, the pinnacle of the entire city's glory, for the first time. No buildings in the city are allowed to be taller than the capital building, making for an open-air feel. No skyscrapers cast their long shadows over the glistening Potomac River. It felt like an overblown college campus, with a multitude of trees and open lawns. I was finally here in our nation's capital.

Sunday, March 16

"Business attire all day and all evening," the day's agenda proclaimed. Armed with the best of my father's ties, I now stared blankly at each option when I woke up today in a luxury suite that I shared with three other guys: Jorden Escamilla of Wyoming, Rob Giltner of Kentucky and Dmitry Kotlovsky of New Mexico. A red tie, blue shirt combo seemed appropriate - "very presidential" I told myself.

By 7:30 a.m. all 102 of us left the hotel in a charter bus for NBC studios to view a live broadcast of "Meet the Press." The host, Tim Russert, was never someone I had taken a particular interest in but nevertheless I anticipated my encounter with a national household name.

It began to rain as we waited outside the studios in our bus. The NBC interns were inside gathering our press passes, each a yellow tag that was needed to get inside the building. The drive to NBC studios gave me a good idea of the surrounding Washington D.C. area - most of it a deciduous forest of trees and shrubs. Many of us who had never been to Washington D.C. thought that the thicket of trees we passed on the highway looked most like the forests of "The Blair Witch Project," with the ill-boding sky overhead. We were assured by our Close Up Foundation tour guide that the land was much more beautiful in the summer and fall.

Once inside the NBC studios, we were seated in bleachers behind the filming crew. Today's guests on the show were Bill Bradley, a Barack Obama supporter, and Nita Lowey, a Hillary Clinton supporter. Neither did or said anything particularly interesting, except for when Bradley tripped in front of all of us approaching the stage.

Russert appeared very informed and knew each guest's ideologies almost better than they did themselves during the taping of the show. Russert has been the host of "Meet the Press" for 17 years.

"There is no substitute for preparation," Russert said in a question and answer session with us after the show. "Don't ever underestimate simplicity and getting your facts straight."

After answering many of our questions, Russert, who was seemingly friendly up to that point allowed each scholar to shake his hand and have their picture taken with him as they exited the studio. I was one of the last to exit the studio after taking pictures for the other scholars. Russert, just as my turn to meet him had arrived, turned and attempted to sneak away.

"Don't leave without meeting me first," I said to him, half jokingly.

"What?" he huffed, disgruntled and bewildered that I had actually addressed him. I ignored his distaste and introduced myself, asking for a picture with him.

He grunted, turned, and proceeded to half power walk, half run away from me as fast as he could. The closest thing I have to a picture with him is a photo of me, with Russert talking to somebody else in the background. I guess getting blown off by him makes for a better story than telling people I got to shake his hand.

The weather had improved considerably by the time we had left NBC, but the morning's rain left a chill on the city making our scheduled sightseeing slightly uncomfortable. Yet our discomfort was combated with the enthusiasm we had for the day's activities. The other scholars and I had bonded surprisingly quickly, and after getting over the initial shock of being surrounded by 101 other high school seniors that I had never met, I began to have the strange sensation that these people were not mere acquaintances, but friends I had known my whole life.

After lunch in China Town, we headed for our nation's most recognizable monuments. I am a very visual and tactile learner. I like to see and feel things to understand them and their message. The national icons I had only seen on television and in films came to life for me as I wandered up the Lincoln memorial steps and stood at the place where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. I laughed loudly as six of us took a photo jumping in midair in front of the White House. I felt a surge of pride at the 1950's North Korean War memorial when I read "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met." In stark contrast I was horrified when learning the Vietnam War memorial's creator, Maya Ying Lin, was not given any recognition for her hard work because she was Asian-American. It's hard to grasp how a nation so free and beautiful could be spattered with a history of hate.

Our group of scholars from each state too is amazingly diverse. We are all journalists, editors of our school newspapers and contributors to our city publications, but we are also black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, Indian, Middle Eastern or a mix in between. Some are the first to graduate high school and some are legacies of their parents - bound for the ivy leagues. But each was chosen for this scholarship for our passion for journalism and a thirst to seek the truth and share it.

Coming from a white, conservative background my eyes were opened by my fellow scholar's insights and perspectives of these historic landmarks, and I learned by listening and enjoying the company of others different, yet distinctly the same to myself. They broke the stereotypes held for their race, for their home state, and some for their sexual orientation that I had so embedded in my mind beforehand, and I realized that although dissimilar from myself, they too could teach me the greatest lessons about life and being human.

"I once had this epiphany that beyond our race and even gender we are all just human," Laurelin Kruse of Alamosa said to me. "We are at the base of it, all human."

Monday, March 17

Apart from understanding our nation's history through the monuments yesterday, we made the transition to understanding our role as journalists today at the Newseum. The Newseum is the newest, most interactive museum on Pennsylvania Avenue dedicated to the history of news and American media. The Newseum was conceived and constructed by the Freedom Forum, Al Neuharth's nonprofit organization dedicated to the protecting the rights of the first amendment. The Freedom Forum also paid in full our trips and scholarships. We were introduced to the Freedom Forum yesterday after our monuments tour. Neuharth himself, lovingly dubbed "Big Al" and joked about by the scholars, began our experience with a question and answer session himself. Up until that point, he had remained a glorified silhouette of power and wealth in our minds. A running joke so far had been that the all-powerful Neuharth used the Washington monument as his personal "Eye of Sauron," like the watchful eye tower in Lord of the Rings. But seeing this 84 year old man who founded USA Today humanized him, and showed us that we too could fulfill our dreams if we persevered like he had.

"The first amendment gives us a free press, but it is up to us as journalists to provide a fair press," he said.

By now, I had figured out this entire trip was like a fish bowl: You take 102 of the most passionate student journalists, give them a free trip and luxury suits, feed them a consistent gourmet meal plan, show them the most exciting parts of their passion, introduce them to current journalism leaders and give them piles of free souvenirs, materials and books and each component will help fulfill the master plan of harvesting healthy organs for Al Neuharth so that he can take them to fulfill immortality. Okay, maybe that wasn't the master plan but each component did act as a catalyst for forming friendships with the other scholars. We were all experiencing this crazy, lavish event together, something that nobody else outside ourselves would understand if we tried to explain it to them.

A good environment is one that "holds people who are amusing, entertaining, even frivolous [and] encourages people to take themselves less seriously," Neuharth said in his autobiography. His theory proved most true among us. Each scholar was witty, clever, good-humored, vivacious, sometimes outrageous and scandalous, but always befriending everyone they met. I love people that can joke and tease non-stop. I've always felt that laughter brings people together. And this group knew how to laugh. I will never forget each person's natural ability to induce laughter and raise my spirits.

Today we took a full tour of the Newseum, were featured in an hour-long CSPAN taping, and viewed a 4D interactive film. One Newseum exhibit that particularly struck me was the "Sept. 11, 2001 and the Media" exhibit which featured a large hunk of metal from the World Trade Center's ground zero and a 40-foot wall display of every newspaper's front page on Sept. 12, 2001 covering the prior day's events. A part of the exhibit included a movie about how the media covered that day in New York. "There are three kinds of people that run towards danger: cops, firefighters and reporters," Newseum Exhibit Development director Cathy Troust said while viewing this exhibit. All in my tour group sat stunned, reliving those images in our minds and realizing that one day it may be our responsibility to report on a similar horror.

Today we also listened to the Louisville Courier-Journal columnist Betty Baye speak and had a question and answer session with her. Baye was nothing short of hilarious, but incredibly inspirational at the same time.

"I come from very humble beginnings," Baye said. "But it was the richest experience."

Baye grew up in a rough neighborhood in New York, overcame poverty and went to college to become a journalist. "I do not look down on people because I was once looked down on too." she said.

Baye encouraged us to continue our path as journalists if we really loved the journalism business, and warned never to lose our passions for life, living, listening to others and following others home. "I am nosy. I follow people home if I think there is a story there," she said to roars of laughter. "I listen in on conversations if I think there is something I can write about. You can all go home now and tell people that some woman named Betty told you to follow people home. Never forget that you can learn from anybody, and write for the people that will never see what you see."

"Never lose the empathy you have for the people you cover but never quit because of your critics," she said. "I am always inspired by my critics. I love those who hate me because they make me better, the make me prove them wrong. I feel like I was assigned to journalism - given wings to fly. It is a gift to be a messenger."

Tuesday, March 18

Most of us woke up today exhausted from the night before. We had a riverboat tour on the Potomac, which was less of a tour and more of a dinner and dance party that nearly collapsed the second story floor of the riverboat. We were repeatedly asked not to jump or stomp too hard, as the light circuits below us were taking a beating. No success on that request, and after countless pictures, fits of laughter and stamps of dancing amid pounding music the boat came to a halt around 10:30 p.m. I suspect I was not alone in being so wound up that I didn't fall asleep until nearly 1 a.m. - definitely painful for a 6 a.m. wakeup call.

Today, after a lineup of sessions with speakers on media ethics, first amendment rights, and journalists in the Iraq war we participated in a trivia game called Newsmania in the CSPAN studios we had been in yesterday. One memorable moment came when the question "What endangered species is now being protected by federal law in North America?" prompted Jennifer Adams of South Dakota to eagerly hit the buzzer and answer with complete confidence "Giant Pandas." I don't think she will ever live that down or forget the laughter that followed.

Then came the part of the trip I was most excited for: our visit to USA Today and meeting with Kenneth Paulson, editor of USA Today. USA Today is located just outside Washington D.C.'s city limits in gargantuan glass towers, which also housed Gannett media headquarters (Gannett, which Al Neuharth was also CEO of in the 1980's, is the company that owns USA Today). We were given a complete tour of the inner workings of the newsrooms, including a glimpse of tomorrow's front page. The entire building was beautiful, but unnaturally quiet as our tour was midday when all the reporters and photographers were out on assignments. I would have liked to see the building in full swing during its morning hours or late night deadlines.

Paulson, who has been the editor of USA Today since 2004, reminded me a lot of Rocky Mountain News publisher John Temple: amiable, genuine and enthusiastic about his job. "To be a leader you need to know what you are doing, like what you are doing, and you need to be kind to your employees," Paulson said. "You can't bully people into putting out a better paper, you have to inspire them."

Many of the other scholar's questions pertained to what he thought the future of newspapers would be with competing online content, but Paulson appeared optimistic in the face of much skepticism about the industry's future.

"Newspapers are actually in a golden age," he said. "[Between circulation and online content] you can reach more people than you have ever been able to before. Imagine that Gutenberg didn't invent the printing press, that Gutenberg invented the digital modem in the 15th century, and we never had print. All your information came from wristwatches and video TV screens. If this was reality,I'dhave a press conference, and say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we've got - not only for this century, but for all centuries - an incredible communication model. This product that we have, you'll just be stunned by.'"

"You know how people fight over access to the computer when this is multiple people at home? No more need to fight," Paulson said. "We've gotten rid of that. No need to even go online. No need to spend all that time surfing. What we have done is hired a hundred people who will look for news and information that concerns you and your life -local sports teams, local schools - and we're going toprint this in full color. We're going to hand deliver this to you every morning, at 5:30, for about half the price you tip the pizza guy.

"And listen to these technological advances, this is truly outstanding: Worried about your kids getting access to pornography? This is totally screened for porn," Paulson continued excitedly."McAfee, software updates? Guaranteed virus-free. And pages 3,4,5,6,7, no annoying pop-up ads at any time. If you take this product if you're a frequent traveler and you're on a plane, and they say to power down all of your equipment, you turn this baby on. You open it up - it's totally portable, and on a good day relatively waterproof. It's a printed newspaper."

Paulson also touched on the public's growing distrust of the media, and its ethics in getting stories. "The media is the most useless word," he said. "[Newspapers] are about serving the public. People need to separate us from the tabloids, YouTube and the paparazzi."

Wednesday, March 19

I woke up today with a sick feeling in my stomach; we had less than 24 hours left as a group of 102 Free Spirit scholars in Washington D.C. I can't believe it, we've been here for less than a week but I felt like the friendships I've made are already so strong. How can I possibly get on a plane and leave all these people behind tomorrow? It was already too painful to think about.

Today we were back at the Newseum, with three sessions. The first was from a former Free Spirit scholar, which I felt was a waste of time, as he talked about what he did in high school five years ago. I actually got up, left like I was going to the bathroom, and began my search for Al Neuharth's office. I found it and took pictures of it from the outside, before spotting Neuharth down the hall. I then chased after him, but unfortunately lost him as he entered some kind of storage room that required an access card to enter. He was probably wondering who was on the other side of the door, rattling the knob trying to get in. I guess I was just following one of Neuharth's many mantras: Don't stand in line, because it won't get you to the front any quicker.

The second session was from a man working for a non-profit in South Africa to combat AIDS, which was informative but it was the third session I was really interested in: Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines.

Every year, along with choosing the Free Spirit scholars from each state, the Freedom Forum chooses an individual who has shown courage in journalism. This year Black was the honoree.

After a brief break following our second session, I positioned myself near the entrance, waiting for Black to arrive. I was determined to be the first one to introduce myself to her. After reading her book "Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)" I realized that she was possibly the most fantastic person I would have the opportunity to meet. Of course I would never admit this in front of Neuharth, but her book was my favorite of the required readings assigned before the trip. My countless highlighter marks throughout the book are a testament to how much weight I felt her words carried. I really wanted to make an impression on Black, if I was ever to pursue a career in New York magazines for the future.

"More often than not, you only get one real chance to make your pitch - so make it count," Black says in her book. I definitely wanted to make my first one with her count.

Black was a hard character to read. She was friendly, but not overly open. Yet throughout her session I was amazed by her articulate wisdom, and knew that I was in the presence of true greatness.

"[Being a free spirit] is not about being bad," she said. "It's about being damn good. If someone wants to get ahead in journalism I would tell them not to focus on how quickly they get there, but on how well they do each job that leads to a promotion. The best qualities to have in this industry are: drive, ambition, attention to detail, passion, caring, and a desire to be the best you can be."

At this point in the session I stopped taking notes and scrawled this single sentence on an empty page in my notebook: "This whole experience has totally affirmed my destiny to be a journalist." And it is so true! Everything Cathie Black was saying, and everything I had heard from the previous speakers continued to empower me to do the best job I could in all my journalistic endeavors. Though my effort to make my school newspaper, the Arapahoe Herald, the best student publication in Colorado, I have learned how to approach my work with a wholehearted attitude. By submitting columns to YourHub.com for over two years, and allowing my opinions to be picked apart, judged and commented on, I have been learned how to appreciate critics and stand behind my opinions.

After our session with Cathie Black we were taken back to the hotel to put on our tuxedos and formal dresses before the grand gala: the 2008 Al Neuharth Free Spirit Awards ceremony. In the lobby of the hotel, it was like prom night, multiplied by 10. Everyone was all dressed up with camera flashes going off in every direction. A professional photographer who had been following us around all week weaved in and out, trying to capture as many of us as he could.

We each wore our gold medals, engraved with our name and home state, which were awarded to us as they read off a quote we had written of our greatest journalistic experience. The other attendees at ceremony included all the journalism leaders we had met throughout the week and other media leaders. After Cathie Black was awarded her Free Spirit of the Year award, that was it. We headed back to the hotel after dinner, changed into more comfortable clothing and sat in the lounge enjoying the little time we had left with each other.

Small booklets with each of our pictures and miniature biographies were passed around like yearbooks, each of us frantically signing each others and hoping that when midnight came, the conference directors wouldn't actually make us go to our hotel rooms. But midnight did come, and that's exactly what they insisted. But before leaving we all gathered in a circle, with our arms around each other singing "Lean On Me." I will never forget that moment, standing there shaking, knowing that this was the last time all of us would be together in one room.

Thursday, March 20

I woke up today to a nearly empty room. Rob from Kentucky and Dmitry from New Mexico had already gotten up and left on a bus for their flight. Knowing that people were slowly trickling onto busses to catch their flights home felt like holding onto wet sand, clumps of it escaping between the gaps of your fingers.

I grabbed my suitcase and headed downstairs to the lobby to wait for my own bus. Only a few scholars were left, as many of their flights required them to be at the airport hours earlier. Before boarding the bus with a heavy heart, we hugged the remaining scholar's goodbye. Most of them were in tears, but I was determined not to cry.

Sitting next to Natalia Ledford of Nebraska on the bus to Dulles International Airport, I tried to hold myself together as I watched the Washington monument slowly recede from my view. The first thing I saw in Washington D.C. was to be the last, and then the tears came. Silently, I mourned for the people and experience I was leaving behind. The most amazing, loving, exciting people I had ever met were now officially in my past. The constant laughter that enveloped everything we did, the humble understanding that we were each chosen as the best of the best in high school journalism, the unwavering acceptance that each person experienced will always resonate in my heart when I think of Washington D.C.

Natalia grabbed my hand, and said, "Don't be sad. I'm not sad because I know that this isn't the end. I feel like I've finally found my people. Right away I knew I was with the most motivated group of kids, and knew I was not alone in wanting to change the world. We are all going to be working together again at the top."

It was the most profound statement, coming from an eighteen year old girl. I will hold on to that for the rest of my life. It's what keeps me motivated to pursue my passion of journalism, because in the end we will all one day meet up again, laughing at editors meetings of the time when we raided Washington D.C., networked with the most intelligent journalists, and made the best of friends.

Kelley Robinson is currently a senior at Arapahoe High School and editor-in-chief of his school newspaper, the Arapahoe Herald. He has been a columnist for the YourHub Centennial section of the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post for over two years.