After attending the National College Media Convention in Orlando, Fla. last week, I walked away with more knowledge about journalism than I can count. I was able to speak with award-winning college newspaper staffs, learn more about better newsroom management and how to keep my sanity in this fast-paced profession.

I had the fortunate opportunity to meet The Crimson White newspaper staff from the University of Alabama, and learn how they covered the tornadoes that wrecked Tuscaloosa and surrounding areas in April.

The staff completely came together with one single mission-which was to act as an effective communication tool to students, faculty, staff and members of the community. They did their jobs beautifully and deserve nothing but praise for how well they orchestrated the tornado coverage.

Although The CW used traditional forms of media, like a print newspaper, to keep the public informed, they shined the most with their excellent use of social media, including Twitter and Facebook. The editors said they didn’t receive much praise from the university administration, but they got the thumbs up from a number of admirers, including journalist Katie Couric.

When the storm hit Tuscaloosa, The CW staff didn’t hesitate. Though they didn’t have an emergency plan already set in place, they swarmed into action and performed their roles as journalists. They had no other choice-it was their duty as members of the media to perform that public service for their community.

Of course, I followed The CW on Twitter when the tornado coverage was happening, and their work was an eye-opening experience and example of great journalism for me. I considered the fact that the tornadoes that struck Alabama could have easily destroyed Florence and taken the lives of many members of the UNA community.

Would my small newspaper staff have taken the same initiative as The CW had something similar happened within the city of Florence? I truly believe we would have, but since we were fortunate enough to have only suffered from a few fallen trees and power outages, we had the chance to learn from The CW’s work.

Social media is an extremely important tool of communication today, and The Flor-Ala has explored various online venues during the last two years to more effectively reach our readers. We’ve run into a few bumps along the way, but we’ve found that it is probably one of the best forms of communication we have with our readers-in terms of what they like, don’t like or need from our publication.

As a student journalist on the cusp of graduation, I’m excited to enter the world of new media, although I still haven’t transitioned to a smart phone. I’m looking forward to working as a reporter and using social media and live blogs to inform the public within news organizations that may have rejected new media in the past.

Stick with The Flor-Ala this year to learn about what’s going on at UNA. Join the conversation by visiting florala.net, like us on Facebook and follow our Twitter accounts: @UNAFlorAla and @FlorAlaSports.