At the National High School Journalism convention Nov. 21-24 in Washington, D.C., students were awarded for both individual contests at the conference and for pre-submitted work. 

The National Scholastic Press Association, a convention co-sponsor, recognized U-High journalists for their work over the past year. Junior Audrey Matzke, features editor, placed fourth for the NSPA Story of the Year editorial award; Jacob Posner and Emma Trone, 2018-19 Midway editors-in-chief, won honorable mentions for NSPA Digital Story of the Year podcast category and Social Justice Reporting. U-Highlights yearbook won an honorable mention for NSPA Design of the Year for its theme package. 

“It’s a time to sort of reflect back on our hard work and think back on all the challenges that we faced and how we can overcome them and how we will overcome them,” Audrey said on the NSPA awards.

Students who attended the conference participated in National Student Media Contests from the Journalism Education Association, another co-sponsor, where they created and submitted work based on selected contests. The entries were evaluated by national standards, and eleven students were recognized for their work.

Five students received a superior rating: Mira Costello, feature writing; Claire Duncan, yearbook copy/caption: student life; An Ngo, review writing; Peter Pu, news editing, headline writing and current events; and Maria Shaughnessy, sports action photography.

Two students received an excellent rating: Cali Abbey, commentary writing, and Malcolm Taylor, first-year photo.

Four students received an honorable mention: Anathea Carrigan, yearbook copy/caption: sports; Olivia Griffin, editorial writing; Grace Holleb, newswriting; and Julian Ingersoll, sports writing.

“I honestly think it gave me a lot more confidence in my writing,” said sophomore reporter An Ngo, whose submission for review writing received a superior rating. “ I definitely learned how to just work under pressure.”

Reporters of all grade levels attended the convention, along with 6,000 student journalists from across the country. Attendees, as well as participating in the contests, various workshops and seminars on student journalism, met with professional journalists and toured Washington, D.C., museums and landmarks, including the Newseum.