This post was submitted to Manual RedEye by Addy Falkner (10, J&C).
Many Journalism and Communication (J&C) students and student publications won awards for excellence in writing, photography and design at the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association fall National High School Journalism Convention (JEA/NSPA NHSJC) on Nov. 3 during the awards and closing ceremony in Chicago, Illinois.
Publication awards
Best in Show awards are given to publications exclusively in attendance of the conference. One Blue Wall won seventh place in the Literary Magazine category and both On the Record and Manual RedEye won tenth place in the Newsmagazine and Website Large School categories respectively.
In addition to Best in Show, On the Record was awarded a Pacemaker in the Newsmagazine category, the highest award a high school publication can earn. One Blue Wall was a finalist for a Pacemaker in the Literary Magazine category.
Individual awards
On The Record members Ysa Leon (11, J&C) and Ella Treinen (11, J&C) won first place in the Social Justice Reporting category for Story of the Year. The story also won the Brasler Prize which is the first place story of all of the first place stories.
“Beyond what we wanted to do for On The Record, it was really for the [Y-NOW] program,” Leon said. “We have seen firsthand the amazing impact it has on young children, particularly boys, and we really just wanted to give back and help the program, and this was beyond anything we could have wanted or expected.”
“I don’t think either of us were expecting it at all,” Treinen said. “As soon as they announced our names, we both just started crying. It was just surreal.”
In addition, Piper Hansen (12, J&C) and Nikhil Warrier (c/o 2018, J&C) were awarded an Honorable Mention for Digital Story of the Year in the Interactive Graphic category.
Write-off awards
At the convention, students from around the nation can participate in write-off competitions. Students make submissions based on a prompt at the convention or can submit materials prior to attending. Below are the awards that Manual students took home:
Honorary Mentions:
- Review Writing, Sylvia Cassidy (10, J&C)
- Broadcast Anchor, Star Watts (11, J&C)
- Press Law & Ethics, Macy Waddle (9, J&C)
- Yearbook Copy/Caption Writing, Tori Nugent (11, J&C)
- Themed Photo, Mia Breitenstein (11, J&C)
- Sports Action Photography, Keri Phillips (12, J&C)
Excellent Rating:
- Newswriting, Piper Hansen (12, J&C)
- Newspaper Editing, Katie Cummins (10, J&C)
- Literary Magazine: Poetry, Sam Baker (10, J&C)
- Literary Magazine: Illustration, E. Streeter (12, J&C)
- Sports Feature Photography, Pieper Mallett (11, J&C)
Superior Rating:
- Graphic Design: Advertising, Jess Mays (11, J&C)
- Literary Magazine: Photography, Olivia Brotzge (12, J&C)
The conference
In addition to receiving awards, students also attend lectures and workshops about writing, photography, leadership, design, ethics and many more topics pertaining to the individual interests of each student.
“Every student I was around the entire trip represented our magnet and school in the best of possible lights. We teachers are very grateful,” Mr. Kristafer Abplanalp (J&C) said.
