JEA recognizes Michigan’s Annabella Mi as 2025 Aspiring Young Journalist

Do not underestimate middle school journalists.

Those are the fitting words of Annabella Mi, an eighth grader at Clague Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who was recognized on April 26 in Seattle as the Journalism Education Association’s 2025 Aspiring Young Journalist.

“Our vocabulary may not be as grand nor our height, but the issues resolved, the story-telling told, the truth-seeking scavenged, is a spectacle I am inspired by,” she wrote as part of her application for the award. “Journalism wields the power of change and should be within reach to all middle school students without liability.”

Judges also recognized Mena Zavala of Summit-Questa Montessori School in Davie, Florida, as a runner-up, as both students exhibited the criteria for the award given to outstanding middle school/junior high journalists:

• Skilled and creative use of media
• Inquiring mind and investigative persistence
• Courageous and responsible handling of issues
• Variety of journalistic experiences
• Sustained and commendable work with school media

Adviser Sara-Beth Badalamente, CJE, described Mi as “The Little Engine That Could”.

“Annabella showcases it all,” Badalamente wrote. “She writes breaking news (when there are snow days) and makes sure we have web and social media content ready to post. She covers our local PTSO by attending all of their meetings and writes up summaries for the website. And she is an advocate for her staff. If I’m moving a little too slow on editing, Annabella is always ready to help me get it done.”

Mi led The Cougar Star website at Clague and last year urged her teacher to add a print edition. Badalamente agreed, if Mi could help raise money for the cause. They printed a paper, and so far three editions this year, even placing in NSPA Best of Show last fall. Mi also brought her skillset to Clague’s yearbook.

Her entry portfolio includes stories about computer issues on campus, a teacher’s sudden departure from campus and one on Red Dye No. 3. She plans to continue studying journalism in high school, a staff also advised by Badalamente.

“I appreciated the wide variety of skills she shows in just the five pieces,” wrote contest juror Brit Taylor of Florida, “and Annabella has growing talent in all of them. She is also a leader and innovator, which is clear in her reflections and her adviser’s. The Huron High School staff is winning the Annabella lottery next year.”

Mi is Clague’s second Aspiring winner in three years. A previous finalist from Clague was also honored in Seattle this week with the Student Journalist Impact Award co-sponsored by JEA and Quill and Scroll.

JEA honors runner-up Mena Zavala of Florida

This year’s runner-up, Mena Zavala of Summit-Questa Montessori School, hails from the same school as a 2024 finalist. Contest juror Jed Palmer, CJE, of Colorado offered high praise for Zavala’s work.

“This journalist has a clear passion for people, community and advocacy,” he wrote. “Her portfolio of work shows commitment to in-depth storytelling as evidenced in her compelling work around the issues of farmworkers rights and her photos related to the effects of hostile architecture on the unhoused population. She has a very clear sense of purpose and a strong understanding of the power of voice.”

Feedback from juror Leslie Thompson, CJE, was similar: “Your writing is so strong and well-researched that I hope to use your stories as models for my (much older) high school students,” she wrote. “I look forward to reading more from you in the future!”

Zavala wrote of her love of stories in all forms.

“I’ve been obsessed with movies, theatrical productions, books, puppet shows, songs, anything that took me away from my everyday life to a world I could get lost in,” she wrote. “I love fiction, I always have, I always will, but there is something about the truth and aboutjournalism that moves me.”

Adviser Athena Simmer said Zavala comes from a family of farmworkers, and her work in that issue was one example of bravery in her writing.

“Most recently,” Simmer wrote, “Mena wrote a feature story on the rights of farmworkers, as our home state of Florida recently passed a law that bans local governments from enforcing farms to provide farmworkers with water, shade or respite. Mena … went out in the sugarcane fields of Belle Glade, to show our community the conditions farmworkers work in, teenagers riding on the backs of tractors, right up the road from our school. Her writing puts us in the shoes of another, so we can better understand ourselves.”