Skip to Content

College of Information and Communications

  • Banner Image

Members snag national awards

Posted December 14, 2021

Above photo by Caleb Melville, The Knight, McCallum HS (Austin, Texas).

SIPA members received big awards from the Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association and the Quill and Scroll Honor Society this fall.

NSPA announced its winners of the annual Best in Show, Pacemaker and Individual competitions as well as its Philadelphia Storytelling Workshop staff recognitions in November. These awards exemplify excellence in scholastic journalism and recognize individual journalistic efforts. The Pacemaker is NSPA's preeminent award, recognizing the best programs in the nation. The Best of Show award signifies overall excellence among the attendees and entries at the convention.

Quill and Scroll announced its Blue and Gold Awards. These awards honor high school journalism programs that excelled in the International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest or in the Yearbook Excellence Contest. 

Publications and individuals who are members of SIPA and were honored during the convention are listed below.

JEA Broadcast Adviser of the Year

A.J. Chambers, Richland Northeast HS (S.C.)

JEA Special Recognition Broadcast Adviser

Lindsay Benedict, McLean HS (Va.)

Chris Waugaman, Virginia State University (Va.)

Carl Towley Award (JEA)

Valerie Kibler, Harrisonburg HS (Va.)

2021 JEA Fall National Student Media Awards

Broadcast Feature Story

  • Superior – Sarah Buzzell, Tupelo HS (Miss.)

Broadcast News Story

  • Excellent – Ava Lacey, Tupelo HS (Miss.)

Broadcast Sports Story

  • Excellent – Maddie James, Tupelo HS (Miss.)

2021 Broadcast Pacemaker Awards

"RNE-TV"
Richland Northeast HS (S.C.)

2021 Newspaper/Newsmagazine/Specialty Magazine Pacemaker Awards

The Dispatch
James Bowie HS (Texas)

tjTODAY
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Va.)

2021 NSPA Individual Competition Winners 

BROADCAST STORY OF THE YEAR

Broadcast News Story

Broadcast Feature Story

  • 1st – “RR BBQ,” Ebony Christie, Alani Hamilton & Te’Veon Cooper, "RNE-TV," Richland Northeast HS (S.C.)
  • 2nd – “The Voice of the Explorers,” Neo Gaitan, Adrian Botton, Joseph Gonzalez, Manuel Naccarato & Christopher Gomez, "CCNN Live," Christopher Columbus HS (Fla.)
  • 3rd – “The bearded beekeeper,” Christopher Gomez, Nicolas Casanueva, Joseph Gonzalez, Adrian Botton & Andrew Ordieres, "CCNN Live," Christopher Columbus High School (Fla.)

Broadcast Sports Story

Broadcast Commentary

CARTOON OF THE YEAR

Comics Journalism

  • Honorable Mention – Cameron Tebo, The Highlander,  McLean HS (Va.)

Comic Strip

  • Honorable Mention – Phoebe Raborn, The Tiger, Little Rock Central HS (Ark.)
  • Honorable Mention – Srihari Yechangunia, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)

Editorial Cartoon

  • 2nd – Julia Landy, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Anna Rachwalski, The Southerner, Midtown HS (Ga.)

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Newspaper page/spread

  • 1st – Samantha Freeman & Tracy Tran, The Sidekick, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • 5th – Faith Lawrence, The Dispatch, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Newsmagazine page/spread

  • Honorable Mention – Julia Landy, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Travis Newbery, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)

Literary/specialty magazine page/spread

  • 1st – Brittany Jiang & Kennedy Maloney, Earthwinds, Jackson Prepartory School (Miss.)
  • 4th – Lucy Hines & Natalie Ripps, iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Minjae Hur, Sophia Pandit & Yudam Chang, The Tartan, McLean HS (Va.)

Yearbook spread

  • 4th – Lindsey Plotkin & Bella Russo, The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Ellen Zeng & Nidhi Patil, Techniques, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

Yearbook Theme package

  • 1st – Grace Conlan & Ryan Kinney, Lone Star, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • 5th – Staff, Techniques, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

Informational graphic

  • Honorable Mention – Lily Singer, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Ashley Ferrer, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Hannah Zuniga, The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)

Illustration

  • 5th – Elizabeth Clarke & Kennedy Maloney, Earthwinds, Jackson Preparatory School (Miss.)
  • Honorable Mention – Forrest Meng, tjTODAY, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

DIGITAL STORY OF THE YEAR

Multimedia News Story

  • 2nd – Staff, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Neha Desaraju, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)

Multimedia Sports Story

  • 3rd – Sapna Amin & Sally Parampottil, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • 4th – Alice Scott & Makenzie Mason, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Staff, The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Angelina Liu & Sally Parampottil, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)

Photo Slideshow

  • 1st – Staff, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Kattie Romhilt & Addie Brown, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)

Interactive Graphic

  • 2nd – Andy Chung, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)
  • 3rd – Staff, The Shield online, McCallum HS (Texas)

Podcast

  • Honorable Mention – Dana Richie, The Southerner, Midtown HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Christi Norris, Maddie Moats & Caroline Wilburn, Eagle Nation Online, Prosper HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Jessica Chung, Whiitman Ochiai, Mavuka Valluri & Laura Zhang, TJTV Podcast Network, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

Blog

  • 1st – Lucy Marco, The Shield online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 4th – Tomas Dougan, Odyssey Media Group, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Akhila Gunturu, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)

PHOTO OF THE YEAR

News Photo

  • 3rd – Magnolia Collins, Tiger News Online, Little Rock Central HS (Ark.)

Feature Photo

  • 4th – Caleb Melville, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Madelynn Niles, The Shield, McCallum HS (Texas)

Sports/Game Action Photo

  • Honorable Mention – Katie Gerbasich, Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park HS (Texas)

Sports Feature Photo

  • 3rd – Caleb Melville, The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 5th – Olivia Estoppey, Legend, Wando HS (S.C.)

Environmental Portrait

  • 2nd – Marina Qu, The Tartan, McLean HS (Va.)
  • Honorable Mention – Anna McClellan, The Shield, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Lily Gorman, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Marina Qu, The Tartan, McLean HS (Va.)

PORTFOLIO OF THE YEAR

Artist of the Year

  • 3rd – Erin Lawson, Tribal Tribune, Wando HS (S.C.)
  • 4th – Rae Gray, The Dispatch, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Brittany Jiang, Earthwinds, Jackson Preparatory School (Miss.)

Broadcast Journalist of the Year

  • 2nd – Christopher Gomez, "CCNN Live," Christopher Columbus HS (Fla.)
  • Honorable Mention – Sean Nguyen, "tjTODAY," Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

Designer of the Year

  • 1st – Ryan Kinney, Lone Star, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • 2nd – Faith Lawrence, The Dispatch, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Taylor Olson, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)

Multimedia Journalist of the Year

  • 4th – Alice Scott, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 5th – Natalie Cullen, The Dispatch Online, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Photojournalist of the Year

  • 1st – Maya Ortiz, Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Kennedy Weatherby, The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)

Writer of the Year

  • 4th – Sally Parampottil, The Sidekick, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Mary-Michael O'Hara, Legend, Wando HS (S.C.)
  • Honorable Mention – Cade Spencer The Dispatch, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention– Kathleen Ortiz, Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Gabriella Winans, Eagle Nation Online, Prosper HS (Texas)

SOCIAL JUSTICE REPORTING

Social Justice News Story

  • Honorable Mention – Saisha Dani, Shruthi Manimaran & Swetha Manimaran, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)

STORY OF THE YEAR

Feature Story 

  • 4th – Kathleen Ortiz, Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Amanda Hare & Sailor Jane Mackenzie, Eagle Nation Online, Prosper HS (Texas)

Sports Story 

  • 2nd – Ava Smith, The Southerner, Midtown HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Maya Ortiz, Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park HS (Texas)

Editorial

  • 4th – Ellen Fox, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 5th – Aleena Gul & Polina Zubarev, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)
  • Honorable Mention – Saisha Dani & Shruthi Manimaran, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Promotion

  • 2nd – Kaija Gilbertson Hall, iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Staff, The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)

COVID-19 COVERAGE

Broadcast news or feature

  • 2nd – Alice Scott, Kate Boyle, Anna McClellan & Grace Nugent, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Carrena Spann & Deim Gannaban "RNE-TV," Richland Northeast HS (S.C.)

Online: news or feature

  • Honorable Mention – Dana Richie, Elena Hubert & Anna Fedorova, The Southerner, Midtown HS (Ga.)
  • Honorable Mention – Maya Amman & Marina Qu, The Highlander, McLean HS (Va.)

Print: news or feature

  • 4th – Lucy Marco, The Shield, McCallum HS (Texas)

Yearbook

  • 2nd – Isabel Chen, Rachael Kim & Marian Qian, Techniques, Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology (Va.)

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Design of the Year

  • Honorable Mention – Macklaine Easton, The Round-Up, Woodland Junior HS (Ark.)

Story of the Year

  • 5th – Marlee Means, The Round-Up, Woodland Junior HS (Ark.)

Photo of the Year

  • 3rd – Stella Sutton, The Round-Up, Woodland Junior HS (Ark.)
  • Honorable Mention – Ruby Templeton, The Round-Up, Woodland Junior HS (Ark.)

2021 NSPA Fall Best in Show

STAFF RECOGNITION

Literary Arts Magazine

  • 2nd place – iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)

Newspaper/Newsmagazine – more than 1,500 enrollment

  • 4th place – The Shield, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 7th place – The Eagle Eye, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.)

Newspaper/Newsmagazine – junior high/middle school

  • 1st place – The Sequoyah Scribe, John Sevier MS (Tenn.) 

Website – more than 1,500 enrollment

  • 8th place – Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • 9th place – Odyssey Media Group, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)

Yearbook – high school, 144-264 pages

  • 4th place – The Knight, McCallum HS (Texas)

Yearbook – high school, 384-528 pages

  • 6th place – Lone Star, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • 9th place – Legend,  Wando HS (S.C.)

Yearbook – junior high/middle school

  • 2nd place – The Round-Up, Woodland Jr. HS (Ark.)

INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION

Editorial Leadership

  • 1st – Lucy Marco, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 2nd – Kate Boyle, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 4th – Anjali Vishwanath, The Sidekick, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • 6th – Grace Nugent, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)

Podcast

  • 2nd – Molly Harwell, Odyssey Media Group, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • 3rd – Anjali Krishna, Trisha Atluri & Angelina Lui, Coppell Student Media, Coppell HS (Texas)
  • 6th – Christi Norris, Amanda Hare & Caleb Audia, Eagle Nation Online, Prosper HS (Texas)
  • 8th – Emily Couch, Odyssey Media Group, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)

Broadcast Feature Story

  • 1st – Alice Scott & Lucy Marco, The Shield Online, McCallum HS (Texas)

Literary Magazine Design

  • 1st – Lucy Hines, Natalile Ripps, Grace Lang & Laniya Jones, iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • 2nd – Natalie Ripps, Lucy Hines, Penelope Anderson & Kira Thomas, iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)
  • 4th – Natalie Ripps, Lucy Hines, Ethan Caspary-Poucher & Amanda Ochieng, iliad, Clarke Central HS (Ga.)

2021 Philadelphia Storytelling Workshop

STAFF RECOGNITION

Newspaper/Newsmagazine

  • 2nd – The Dispatch, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Website

  • 7th – The Dispatch online, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Yearbook

  • 3rd – Lone Star, James Bowie HS (Texas)

2021 Quill and Scroll Blue and Gold Excellence Contest

DESIGN

Class A Academics Spread

  • 3rd place – Ryan Kinney, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Eva Andrus, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Clubs or Organization Spread

  • Honorable Mention – Carly Johnson, McCallum HS (Texas)

Class A Graphic Design Spread

  • 3rd place – Abby Mandel, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Wes Warmink, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Class A Pandemic Spread

  • Honorable Mention – Clara Baressi, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Performing Arts Spread

  • 2nd place – Lindsey Plotkin, McCallum HS (Texas)

Class A Sports Spread

  • 1st place – Kierra York, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • 2nd place – Sam Bumgarner, Wando HS (S.C.)
  • Honorable Mention – Ryan Kinney, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Abby Mandell, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Class A Student Life Spread

  • Honorable Mention – Clara Baressi, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Theme Development

  • 1st place – Grace Conlan & Ryan Kinney, James Bowie HS (Texas)

PHOTOGRAPHY

Class A Academic Photography

  • 2nd place – Brynn Burke, Wando HS (S.C.)
  • 3rd place – Grace Orr, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Clubs or Org Photography

  • 2nd place – Anna Jane Morrall, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Pandemic Photography

  • 2nd place – Tiffany Ard, James Bowie (Texas)
  • 3rd place  – Joseph Grech, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Photo Illustration

  • 2nd place – Ella-Drew Dodd, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Portrait Photography

  • 3rd place – Tiffany Ard, James Bowie HS (Texas)

Class A Sports Action Photography

  • 3rd place – Tiffany Ard, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention – Tiffany Ard, James Bowie HS (Texas)
  • Honorable Mention  – Joseph Grech, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Student Life Photography

  • 2nd place – Grayce Houston, Mauldin HS (S.C.)

WRITING

Class A Academics Writing

  • 1st place –Grayson Taylor, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Caption Writing

  • 3rd place – Carly Johnson, McCallum HS (Texas)

Class A Headline Writing & Design

  • 3rd place – Lindsey Plotkin, McCallum HS (Texas)

Class A Pandemic Story

  • 2nd place – Lucy Marco, McCallum HS (Texas)
  • 3rd place – Emalee Goode, Wando HS (S.C.)

Class A Student Life Writing

  • 2nd place – Jacob Pelbath, Wando HS (S.C.)
  • Honorable Mention – Lucy Marco, McCallum HS (Texas)

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©