Illinois students take home sixth-largest number of awards at Fall 2015 JEA Write-offs
There's probably no type of contest that better simulates the deadline conditions of real journalism than a write-off competition. No wonder the JEA Write-offs in Orlando attracted more than 2,000 participants. And Illinois students were right in the thick of things.
November 18, 2015
Students from only five other states earned more JEA Write-off awards than Illinois student journalists did at last week’s JEA/NSPA Convention in Orlando, Fla. (Creative Commons photo)
Illinois student journalists earned more than 50 awards in the JEA Write-off competition held last week as part of the 2015 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Orlando, Fla.
In all, Illinois students won 56 individual honors: 13 Superiors, 10 Excellents and 33 Honorable Mentions.
They earned recognition in 24 categories, ranging from newswriting and yearbook copy to graphic design and social media reporting.
The Illinois students were among 2,003 participants in the Write-offs. According to JEA, competitors won 712 awards: 145 Superiors, 204 Excellents and 363 Honorable Mentions.
Illinois finished with the sixth-largest number of Write-off honors at the convention. The top 10 states were:
1. Missouri: 96
2. California: 88
3. Kansas: 75
4. Texas: 71
5. Florida: 66
6. Illinois: 56
7. Indiana: 44
8. Nebraska: 21
9. Arkansas: 18
10. New Jersey: 17
Here are the results for Illinois student journalists:
NEWSWRITING
Superior
• Julia Haponowicz, John Hersey High School
• Kelly McKewin, Wheeling High School
• Julia Zita, Downers Grove North High School
Excellent
• Kali Alexakos, Oswego East High School
• Mike Stanford, Prospect High School
Honorable Mention
• Alison Pfaff, Naperville Central High School
• Gaby Sabatino, Lyons Township High School
EDITORIAL WRITING
Superior
• Phil Smith, Lyons Township High School
Excellent
• Megan Provost, Wheeling High School
FEATURE WRITING
Superior
• Lauren Frias, Glenbrook South High School
Honorable Mention
• Kathleen Callaghan, Downers Grove North High School
• Maya Fenter, Naperville Central High School
• Erika Pogorzelska, Wheeling High School
SPORTS WRITING
Superior
• Sahil Shah, Rolling Meadows High School
Honorable Mention
• Wyatt Effrein, Downers Grove North High School
• Lexi Haskell, Naperville Central High School
REVIEW WRITING
Superior
• Joshua Irvine, John Hersey High School
Excellent
• Sahi Padmanabhan, Naperville Central High School
• Samuel Svoboda, Rolling Meadows High School
Honorable Mention
• Christopher Alvarado, Wheeling High School
• Isabelle Rogers, Prospect High School
• Jonathan Trujillo, Phoenix Military Academy
EDITORIAL CARTOONING
Honorable Mention
• Elena Byrd, Naperville Central High School
COMMENTARY WRITING
Superior
• Ceili Doyle, Lyons Township High School
Honorable Mention
• Abigail Cozariuc, Wheeling High School
• Evan Sawires, Glenbrook South High School
• Zoe Strozewski, John Hersey High School
• Azul Weber, Oswego East High School
NEWS EDITING / HEADLINE WRITING
Excellent
• Jacob Sweetow, Wheeling High School
Honorable Mention
• MelRose Buckler, Lyons Township High School
• Diana Leane , Prospect High School
NEWSPAPER: LAYOUT
Honorable Mention
• Ellen Bakal, John Hersey High School
• Katie Cavender, Glenbrook South High School
PRESS LAW & ETHICS
Honorable Mention
• Riley Langefeld, Prospect High School
YEARBOOK COPY/CAPTION: ACADEMICS
Honorable Mention
• Annalisa Baranowski, Wheeling High School
• Julia Lockerby, Downers Grove North High School
• Alejandra Olaguez, Phoenix Military Academy
• Anne Marie Yurik, Glenbrook South High School
YEARBOOK COPY/CAPTION: CLUBS
Honorable Mention
• Anna Rose Redgate, Naperville Central High School
YEARBOOK LAYOUT: THEME
Honorable Mention
• Hannah Crispi, Oswego East High School
YEARBOOK LAYOUT: INSIDE PAGES
Superior
• Mariah Brown, Oswego East High School
Honorable Mention
• Maddie Marx , Prospect High School
YEARBOOK COVER / ENDSHEETS
Honorable Mention
• Morgan McDowell, Oswego East High School
LITERARY MAGAZINE: POETRY
Superior
• Elaine Sine, Glenbrook South High School
Honorable Mention
• Jamie Anderluh, John Hersey High School
GRAPHIC DESIGN: INFOGRAPHICS
Excellent
• Nicole Simos, Naperville Central High School
YEARBOOK SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Honorable Mention
• Emily Lasky, Prospect High School
NEWSPAPER SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Honorable Mention
• Jenna George, Niles West High School
• Jean Pabon Ayala, Wheeling High School
YEARBOOK STUDENT LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Superior
• Rachel Esczuk, Prospect High School
Excellent
• Savannah Garcia, Wheeling High School
NEWSPAPER NEWS/FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY
Excellent
• Jane Kim, Niles West High School
FIRST-YEAR PHOTO
Excellent
• Sneh Pandya, John Hersey High School
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORTING
Superior
• Cameron Cassidy, Niles West High School
• Sana Kadir, Niles West High School
BROADCAST NEWSWRITING
Honorable Mention
• Jack Gabriel, Prospect High School