Waking up bright and early Tuesday, April 5, I was ready for an eventful day.

I packed my camera, my press badge, and my reporters notebook and I was ready to go. My father and I got in the car to head to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit at around 7 a.m.

We were headed to the Red Wings journalist day — a prestigious event hosted each year for journalists in Michigan to get a feel for sports journalism.

Also, there is a competition where the best essays win a grant for their schools’ journalism programs.

We arrived around 9 a.m. and checked in to the event. It then began with a Q&A panel with Mr. Michael Caples, editor for Michigan Hockey, and Mr. Ken Kal, sports announcer for 97.1 The Ticket.

The panel was extremely informative, and I learned a lot about what it takes to get a job in the journalism field.

Caples stressed how important it is to work for any job you can get as a journalist. He also said you need to be able to stand out in order to succeed.

He said journalism is “not an easy industry to get into.” In addition, Caples said aspiring journalists should do “anything you can do to build your resume because you’re going to compete with a lot of people for not a lot of jobs.”

Kal also spoke about how when he was younger, he would sit down and practice play-by-play announcing, and now, he does it for a living. He said the rewards of dreaming big can be great.

The next part of the day was pretty amazing. We went into Joe Louis Arena for a tour of the press box. It felt amazing to be up where the media is during hockey games.

After that, we watched the Red Wings practice. I knew that was a privilege, considering the incredulous remarks I received from my friends and family afterward.

Mr. Jeff Blashill, head coach of the Red Wings, spoke to me and the fellow journalists next about following our dreams. He then answered our questions, a lot of them pertaining to this season for the Red Wings.

Blashill said there are two factors that ensure both individual and group success.

The first, inner drive, means that you have to be internally motivated to keep working until you succeed.

The second, perseverance, means that you have to keep trying, even if you fail the first few times.

Mr. Craig Turnbull, senior vice president of marketing and communication for the Red Wings, talked to us after that. He showed off the design for the upcoming Detroit Event Center, opening in 2017.

We then had another Q&A, this time with the people who work behind the scenes: Ms. Jennifer Arapoff, director of marketing communications; Mr. Kevin Brown, director of the Detroit Red Wings Foundations and Community Relations; Mr. Alex DiFilippo, communications coordinator for the Red Wings; and Ms. Kimberly Palter, director of integrated media.

The theme was the same: Follow your dreams until you succeed.

The winners of the essay contest were then announced. Although I did not win, I was still happy that the three winners could now allow their journalism programs to thrive.

After the event, my father and I drove through Detroit and passed by the location of the Detroit Event Center. Overall, I had an amazing day and I hope whoever represents The Eclipse next year has just as great of a day as I had.

My main takeaway from the day is to follow my passion. I learned that is is important to choose a career that makes me happy and to keep trying until I make it, no matter how many times I get knocked down.

Blashill made sure to stress this to us.

“The biggest thing I’d say to you in terms of as you go through the process of growing up and determining what you want to do in life … the biggest thing is to follow your passion,” Blashill said. “If you’re lucky enough for your passion to match your skill set, you’ll work at a job you love every single day.”

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