U-High journalists attended the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville from Nov. 13-15, where they attended instructional sessions, toured some Nashville highlights and earned awards for their work.
The U-High Midway was named one of 16 winners nationwide to receive the National Scholastic Press Association’s Newspaper Pacemaker Award for the 2024-25 editions. This is the Midway’s fourth Newspaper Pacemaker in a row, and its 14th win overall.
The U-Highlights yearbook won its second consecutive first-place Best of Show trophy for yearbooks between 225-276 pages, while the Midway website received third place for website and fourth place for newspapers in schools with enrollment below 1,800 students.
U-Highlights editor-in-chief Daniel Chang said that the team winning multiple awards helped boost team morale on top of what they gained from the sessions.
“Going there and winning Best of Show and then winning all the awards that we have, really helped us and our team morale as much as we learned and picked up on valuable skills from the sessions,” he said.
Many journalists also received individual NSPA awards. Midway editor-in-chief Light Dohrn, a senior, received third place in the nation for Digital Story of the Year for her podcast on Dungeons and Dragons.
“When I made the audio story, I actually was very nervous about it because audio is not really in my comfort zone,” Light said. “It feels so great to have someone say to you, look, this thing that you thought you weren’t good at was actually great.”
A photo slideshow published in June about moments of intensity was named the best in the nation. Other National Scholastic Press Association individual awards:
- Digital Story of the Year, photo slideshow, Staff, first place
- Digital Story of the Year, photo slideshow, Bryce Kenny, Olin Nafziger (Class of 2025), Orlie Weitzman, fourth place
- Digital Story of the Year, podcast, Light Dohrn, third place
- Portfolio of the year, photojournalist, Simon Vaang, second place
- Portfolio of the year, photojournalist, Delaney Connell, fourth place
- Design of the year, newspaper front page, Taariq Ahmed (Class of 2025), honorable mention
- Design of the year, illustration, Sygne Stole (Class of 2025), honorable mention
- Photo of the year, news, Olin Nafziger (Class of 2025), honorable mention
- Photo of the year, news, Ellis Calleri (Class of 2025), honorable mention
- Photo of the year, feature, Simon Vaang, honorable mention
- Photo of the year, sports feature, Henry Benton (Class of 2025), honorable mention
- Photo of the year, environmental portrait, Delaney Connell, honorable mention
Additionally, journalists attending the Nashville convention competed in contests before or on-site as part of the National Student Media Contests from the Journalism Education Association.
Sophomore Karina Hans participated in the news editing, current events and headline writing competition, and received an honorable mention.
“When I actually got into the competition, it wasn’t what I was expecting whatsoever,” Karina said. “I got there and my nerves eased down just seeing the energy of other people in the room, because they seemed lighthearted about it.”
Journalism Education Association National Student Media Contests awards:
- Superior: Sohana Schneider, review writing
- Superior: Simon Vaang, feature photography
- Superior: Nadia Washington, podcast
- Superior: Bryce Kenny, sports action photography
- Excellent: Sinziana Lazar, newswriting
- Excellent: Kabir Joshi, sports writing
- Excellent: Light Dohrn, newspaper layout
- Excellent: Daniel Chang, yearbook layout: inside pages
- Excellent: Isaac Benton, literary magazine: illustration
- Excellent: Layla Flowers, themed photo
- Excellent: Noah Gunning, sports feature photography
- Honorable mention: Orlie Weitzman, editorial writing
- Honorable mention: Naomi Benton, feature writing
- Honorable mention: Ellie Rosenberg, commentary writing
- Honorable mention: Karina Hans, news editing/headline/current events
- Honorable mention: Lila Coyne, press law and ethics
- Honorable mention: Mira Mrizek, yearbook copy/caption: academics
- Honorable mention: Kayla Monterola, yearbook layout: theme
- Honorable mention: Elspeth LaCroix-Birdthistle, general or spot news photography
- Honorable mention: Delaney Connell, photography portfolio
- Honorable mention: Peyton Palmer, portrait photo
