The U-High Midway received 49 team and individual awards in the 2023 Illinois Journalism Education Association Newspaper and Digital News Media Contest which consists of the top journalism programs in Illinois. 

The Midway was awarded first place for Best Hybrid Publication and Best Overall Publication in its division, which is made up of high schools with fewer than 1,000 students. In total, the Midway won 25 first place awards, 16 second place awards, 4 third place awards and 4 honorable mentions.

Clare McRoberts, a sophomore who serves as an assistant editor, won four first place awards, three second place and one third place award. She said she was honored to win these awards because she had a particularly fun time working on those stories.
She said, “I am super honored to win these awards, and I’m really excited about the pieces that received awards because they were some of my favorite pieces to work on, report on, and just write.”

Here is a complete list of the awards:

News Story

Second place: Identity groups demand community address hate speech, Téa Tamburo

Third place: With powerful testimonials of discrimination, groups call for action, Taariq Ahmed, Mia Lipson, Téa Tamburo

In-Depth News Story

Second place: Leaving Lab: Black students say school environment is unwelcoming, Audrey Park

Third place: Safety and security: Half of surveyed worry about safety on campus, Clare McRoberts

Feature Story

First place: Role-playing game builds community through stories, Amy Ren

Personality Profile

First place: Accessibility advocate: Student reflects on fight for disability rights in published book, Louis Auxenfans

Second place: Bel Canto singer finds his voice in song, Clare McRoberts

Sports Feature Story

First place: Pressure to perform: Students say managing workload, sports comes with cost, William Tan

Sports Commentary

Third place: FIFA World Cup (Chapter 2): Qatar sparks controversy as World Cup host, Zara Siddique

Honorable mention: Keep no-cut: Everyone plays their part, William Tan

Staff Editorial

First place: Administrators: Denounce and address hateful actions, Clare O’Connor

Second place: Step up to support peers’ mental health, Sahana Unni

Serious Commentary

First place: New auditorium name at odds with values, Sahana Unni

Honorable mention: U-High must shine a light on Asian American struggles, Amy Ren

Review

First place: ‘M3GAN’ combines humor and horror to tell relevant, engaging story, Amon Gray

Second place: Video game ‘Elden Ring’ provides challenging gameplay, beautiful graphics, Erich Raumann

News or Feature Photo

First place: Historic campus experiences unexpected fire alarm (main photo), Malcolm Taylor

Second place: Photos: ArtsFest 2023 (Photo 5 Chicago Boyz acrobats), Kaden Moubayed

Sports Photo

Second place: Photo gallery: Focused Faces (main photo), Patrice Graham

Honorable mention: Nesbitt named ISL Player of the Year; others receive all-conference honors: Ellis Calleri

Editorial Cartoon

First place: New auditorium name at odds with values, Dalin Dohrn

Third place: It’s time to establish boundaries for AI use, Dalin Dohrn

Illustration

First place: Rethinking Therapy, Dalin Dohrn

Infographic

First place: Falling into the Manosphere, Feb. 23, 2023 (Who’s Who), Clare O’Connor

Second place: Christmas season keeps creeping closer (snowflake graphic), Dec. 8, 2022, Téa Tamburo, Ethan Swinger

Alternative Storytelling

First place: Rising Stars, Jan. 24, Amon Gray, Chloë Alexander, Audrey Matei, Téa Tamburo, Ainsley Williams, Katie Sasamoto-Kurisu, Victoria Washington

Honorable mention: Light up the season with city’s holiday activities, Dec. 8, 2022, Téa Tamburo

Use of Social Media

First place: Instagram

Second place: Facebook

Headline

First place: ABCs of CBD, Katie Sasamoto-Kurisu

Multimedia Story Package

First place: Stitched together: New elective blends artistic creativity, fashion through experimental approach, Amy Ren, Zara Siddique

Second place: Video: Volunteers decorate South Side to spread holiday spirit, Matt Petres, Patrice Graham

Video Story

First place: Weighed down: Are packs harming our backs?, Clare O’Connor

Second place: Video: Behind the scenes, ‘Seussical’ set crew is foundation of theater, Colin Leslie

Audio Journalism

First place: Audio: The beat boys — Club provides opportunity for music exploration, socialization, Téa Tamburo, Sahana Unni

Second place: Audio: How we treat women in power — it’s not just Taylor Swift who faces sexism, Krishita Dutta and Clare McRoberts

Photo Gallery or Photo Slideshow — minimum 6 images

First place: Photo gallery: Focused Faces, Andrew Burke-Stevenson, Carter Chang, Patrice Graham, Gabriel Issa, Matthew McGehee, Chloe Ma, Matt Petres, Amy Ren, Elliott Taylor, Malcolm Taylor 

Second place: Photos: ArtsFest 2023, Victoria Washington and Audrey Matei, Kaden Moubayed, Henry Benton, Patrice Graham, Matthew McGehee, Ishani Hariprasad, Sarah Abdelsalam

Website

First place: uhighmidway.com

Single-Page Story Package

First place: City Life Page 4, Feb. 23, 2023, Peter Cox

Second place: Health & Wellness Page 3, Feb. 23, 2023, Clare McRoberts

Best Centerspread Story Package

First place: Falling into the Manosphere Pipeline, Feb. 23, 2023, Clare O’Connor

Second place: Can they play?, April 14, 2022, Lucia Kouri

Photo Story

First place: Focused Faces, Andrew Burke-Stevenson, Carter Chang, Patrice Graham, Gabriel Issa, Meena Lee, Matthew McGehee, Chloe Ma, Matt Petres, Amy Ren, Elliott Taylor, Malcolm Taylor

Front-Page Design

First place: Vol. 98, Issue 13, Sept. 29, 2022, Louis Auxenfans

Second place: Vol. 98, Issue 16, Dec. 8, 2022, Louis Auxenfans

Best Overall Design

First place: Volume 98, Issue 18, Feb. 23, 2023

Best Hybrid Publication

First place

Best Overall Publication

First place