Walker Post, editor-in-chief of The Warrior at Lane Technical High School in Chicago, is the 2014 Illinois Journalist of the Year.

The announcement was made during the annual spring conference of the Scholastic Press Association of Chicago (SPAC) on Tuesday.

Post, who will attend The University of Illinois starting in September, plans on majoring in journalism.

Seth Johnson, journalism teacher and adviser to The Warrior, said Post’s “most distinguishing attribute is his personal drive and hard work.”

The judges agreed, calling him a “complete journalist.”

“I’m obviously thrilled for Walker Post,” said Seth Johnson, The Warrior’s advisor and journalism teacher. “He has worked really hard the last couple years to develop as a journalist.”

This work has included more than just his reporting for The Warrior, Johnson said. “Post also interned last school year and over the summer at a community journalism program sponsored by Young Chicago Authors,” Johnson said. “It’s great to see intrinsically motivated students rewarded for their efforts.”

“This is a great achievement both for Walker and for Lane Tech,” Lane Principal Christopher  Dignam said. “We take great pride in The Warrior and our student journalists work hard to write thought-provoking articles that have integrity behind them. We are so proud of this young man and his accomplishments both as a writer and as the Editor-in-Chief.”

The Lane Tech Warrior is one of the oldest high school newspapers in America. Originally launched as a daily newspaper that printed short news blurbs and the school’s daily announcements, it has evolved into a lengthier production focusing on Lane Tech-specific news and in-depth feature stories. In recent years, The Warrior has published between five to seven issues per school year and has won numerous awards.

Post and Johnson will attend the Journalism Education Association’s spring conference in San Diego, Calif., this April. This three-day conference provides students the opportunity to take seminars and workshops in a variety of areas in the journalism field.

Post will be honored at the Illinois Journalism Education Association’s annual awards luncheon on Saturday, June 7 at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield.

His portfolio will be entered in the national JOY competition with the winner announced at the Journalism Education Association’s spring conference in San Diego.