Student journalists from Westview joined thousands of their peers from across the country in Minneapolis between April 16 and 19, competing against top student-run publications from around the United States and securing multiple honors in the process.
The convention, hosted by the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), is the largest gathering of student journalists in the country. For Westview, the trip was an opportunity to prove their merit in both their newspaper and yearbook programs.
The Wolverine delegation won six awards at the competition, led by Mason Burg (Sports Writing), Avery Simms (Newswriting) and Cora Vobejda (Newsmagazine Layout), all of whom earned Superior ratings, representing the highest achievements within student journalism nationwide.
Tessa Wilcox received an Excellent rating for Sports Feature Photography, while Logan Jokumsen (Feature Writing) and Will Schuler (Feature Photography) took home Honorable Mentions.
Westview’s Journalism Adviser, Dr. Shelby Schmidt, expressed her gratitude towards her students who attended the convention, saying, “I’m proud of them for even trying. It was fun to see students who didn’t have success at the Nebraska JEA Convention to go on the national stage.”
Outside of competition, the group went to various seminars and broke into small groups with professionals in the journalism industry. They also made time for tourism and leisure, attending a Minnesota Twins baseball game, shopping at the Mall of America and visiting TopGolf.
