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+weeks+JEA%2FNSPA++Convention+in+Orlando%2C+Fla.+%28Creative+Commons+photo%29

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

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