2018 IJEA All-State Journalism Team
Meet Our Honorees for 2017-18
The Illinois Journalism Education Association is proud to announce the following students as members of the 2018 IJEA All-State Journalism Team. They were scholastic journalists during the 2017-18 school year.
Jack Ankony
Prospect H.S. | Mt. Prospect, Cook County | Jason Block, adviser
Senior Jack Ankony is the executive sports editor for the Prospector at Prospect High School, and with that title comes articles, editing and page management. In addition, Jack participates heavily with the ProspectorNow digital site, writing and hosting a broadcast show for coaches. He’s also the voice of the boys basketball and football teams, giving play-by-play for every home game. His work samples included a feature on ACL injuries for athletes, a basketball broadcast and a profile on the new football coach. His adviser is Jason Block.
Katie Anthony
Downers Grove South H.S. | Downers Grove, DuPage County | Mary Long, adviser
As the print news editor for the Blueprint at Downers Grove South High School, senior Katie Anthony helps with brainstorming, coaching, designing, editing and content creation for the newspaper. All of these duties coalesce as she manages the news writers for the Blueprint and is ultimately in charge of that section. Her work samples included a breaking news story on a student walkout, coverage of a school safety forum that followed and several news page designs. Her adviser is Mary Long.
Jaylynn Boggan
Thornton Fractional South | Lansing, Cook County | Christopher Jones, adviser
The Rebel Rouser’s editor-in-chief, senior Jaylynn Boggan, handles everything from writing to layout to managing the staff of the bi-weekly newspaper at Thornton Fractional South High School. Her responsibilities are wide and varied, as she was the only returning student from the year before and therefore trained a staff in addition to participating in the production of her school’s student media. Her work samples included a news story on her school’s walkout. Her adviser is Christopher Jones.
Corryn Brock
Meridian H.S. | Macon, Macon County | Sheila Moore, adviser
Senior Corryn Brock is in her third year on both the yearbook and newspaper/broadcast staffs at Meridian High School. There are few roles that Corryn doesn’t fill, as a reporter, Facebook manager and business/marketing manager for student media. She also interns with the local daily newspaper. Her work samples included a column on political involvement, a localized news article on opioid addiction and coverage of a student walkout. Her adviser is Sheila Moore.
Claire Drewes
St. Charles North H.S. | St. Charles, Kane County | Alice Froemling, adviser
Claire Drewes is the co-editor-in-chief of the Stargazer at St. Charles North High School, and in that role, she plans weekly meetings and oversees both writers’ and editors’ progress as they write and design each edition. As a senior, she also leads discussions on changes in the paper’s style and works to craft a positive newsroom culture. Her work samples included a news article on the flu epidemic at the school, a preview of the student production of “Shrek the Musical” and an editorial about the careless use of certain apps. Her adviser is Alice Froemling.
Joshua Irvine
John Hersey H.S. | Arlington Heights, Cook County | Janet Levin, adviser
Wearing quite a few hats, Joshua Irvine is the editor-in-chief of the Correspondent Live website, as well as the staff cartoonist and the resident film critic for the John Hersey High School newspaper. His team-player nature also extends to providing tutorials for InDesign, Photoshop and WordPress, aiding other staffers with their writing whenever possible. His work samples included a film review, a retrospective on how the school was named and the story behind a soft lockdown. His adviser is Janet Levin.
Annika Lafyatis
James B. Conant H.S. | Hoffman Estates, Cook County | David Gwizdala, adviser
Senior Annika Lafyatis of James B. Conant High School is the co-editor-in-chief of The Conant Crier, where she both leads and participates in all aspects of the school news site. From facilitating meetings to writing, editing and mentoring, Lafyatis multitasks by pushing student content through social media and other channels as well. She is also a member of the Tapestry literary magazine. Her work samples included an editorial on school safety and a first-person article about a Girls Who Code summer program. Her adviser is David Gwizdala.
Gianna Miritello
Marist H.S. | Chicago, Cook County | John Gonczy, adviser
Marist High School’s Gianna Miritello is a senior and the managing editor of The Sentinel, where she works with the staff to bring out their strengths through both constructive criticism and support. At the same time, Miritello is reporting, writing, editing, photographing and designing her own work for the newspaper. Her work samples included a sports feature story on the football team, coverage of families who have multiple students at the school, and a wrap-up on the girls basketball season. Her adviser is John Gonczy.
Claire Myers
Washington Community H.S. | Washington, Tazewell County | Jennifer Reiser, adviser
As sports editor for The Advocate student newspaper at Washington Community High School, senior Claire Myers works with the staff to plan dynamic sports coverage. Traveling to games, working on pages over the weekend, and writing, designing and editing stories are all normal activities for her to make the sports section as thorough as possible. Her work samples included a layout on the wrestling team’s journey to the state title and a breaking news piece about the football team’s advance to the semifinals. Her adviser is Jennifer Reiser.
Sarah Rogoz
Downers Grove North H.S. | Downers Grove, DuPage County | Liz Levin, adviser
Junior Sarah Rogoz is responsible for all aspects of the opinion section of the Omega in both print and online editions at Downers Grove North High School. She works closely with reporters who write for her section, supervising them, reading their stories and offering revision suggestions. Her work samples included an editorial about student athletes taking a knee during the National Anthem, a descriptive column on a weekend trip and a news article covering P.E. exemptions at the school. Her adviser is Elizabeth Levin.
Melissa Schill
Normal Community H.S. | Normal, McLean County | Brad Bovenkerk, adviser
As editor-in-chief of the Normal Community High School Inkspot digital publication, senior Melissa Schill oversees a staff of 14 to ensure that coverage, stories, photos and layout are strong online. She also serves as editor of the print edition, organizing the relaunch of a special 70th anniversary issue. Her work samples included an opinion package on block scheduling, a breaking news story about the resignation of an assistant principal and a news article about construction at the school. Her adviser is Brad Bovenkerk.
Bailey Scoggins
Griggsville-Perry H.S. | Griggsville, Pike County | Andrew Crivilare, adviser
Bailey Scoggins, a senior at Griggsville-Perry High School, is the editor-in-chief of both the newspaper and yearbook at her high school, which means she can often be found doing just about every job on the staff. For both the Tornado Times and the Grigoneer, Scoggins has fought for stories, and even the existence of publications, at her small school. Her work samples included an editorial about homecoming policies, an article covering bullying awareness in school and a front-page design. Her adviser is Andrew Crivilare.
Priyanka Shrijay
University of Chicago Laboratory H.S. | Chicago, Cook County | Logan Aimone, adviser
Junior Priyanka Shrijay, opinion editor of the U-High Midway newspaper at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School, is responsible for curating and designing her section each issue, but she often reports for other sections as well. Priyanka leads the editorial board roundtable discussions to develop the staff editorial, a powerful centerpiece that has generated impact on school policy. Her work samples included a news article on a conservative school group and editing a package about defying social norms. Her adviser is Logan Aimone.
Katrina Troy
Huntley H.S. | Huntley, McHenry County | Lauren Teeter, adviser
Supervising and coaching the staff of the Huntley High School Harmony Yearbook is just one part of senior Katrina Troy’s weekly schedule. As editor-in-chief, she also creates templates and graphics, as well as serves as quality control for the entire publication. At the same time, Troy is the photo editor of the Voice newsmagazine to assure quality in visual storytelling. Her work samples included the March cover of the Voice, as well as yearbook spreads on both homecoming and the fall play. Her adviser is Lauren Teeter.
Kiana Ventura
Morton West H.S. | Berwyn, Cook County | Kathy Abdul, adviser
Morton West High School’s Kiana Ventura is the editor of The Sterling online newspaper, and as a senior, she has created a way to keep the very fluid web-based publishing environment organized. Whether it was meeting with reporters one-on-one or covering various upper-level topics for publication, she had led the way with the online site. Her work samples included coverage of an art show, the Special Olympics and a new addition at the high school. Her adviser is Kathy Abdul.
About the IJEA All-State Journalism Team
The All-State Journalism Team began in spring of 2005, when the Illinois Journalism Education Association recognized a need to honor those students who have proven themselves indispensable to their respective school media (e.g., yearbook, print or online newspaper, print or online newsmagazine, broadcast or other journalist media).
The students named to the All-State team are considered by their staffs and advisers as “most valuable players” — those students whose leadership, energy, dedication and expertise make their publications possible but whose main contributions often occur behind the scenes.
This award elevates student journalists who’ve put their publications ahead of themselves. They’re the ones who are willing to sacrifice their spare time to make sure other people’s stories are well edited. They’re the ones who make sure a publication’s pages are smartly designed, the headlines witty, the photos well composed, the website up to date and easy to navigate, the videos smoothly produced and the information in every story accurate. They’re the ones who don’t seek recognition but deserve it most of all.
Members of the 2018 All-State Team were honored June 2 at the IJEA Awards Luncheon in Springfield.
IJEA All-State Journalism Teams Since 2004-05
Our 2018 honorees join a long line of distinguished high school journalists who have earned All-State recognition since the competition began during the 2004-05 school year. Congratulations to all of our past winners, and we look forward to honoring many more outstanding scholastic journalists in the years to come!
- 2017 Team (2016-17 school year)
- 2016 Team (2015-16 school year)
- 2015 Team (2014-15 school year)
- 2014 Team (2013-14 school year)
- 2013 Team (2012-13 school year)
- 2012 Team (2011-12 school year)
- 2011 Team (2010-11 school year)
- 2010 Team (2009-10 school year)
- 2009 Team (2008-09 school year)
- 2008 Team (2007-08 school year)
- 2007 Team (2006-07 school year)
- 2006 Team (2005-06 school year)
- 2005 Team (2004-05 school year)