By Nancy Smith, MJE, NSMC chair
The National Student Media Contests were all completed virtually for the Fall 2021 JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention.
In all, 405 students competed in photo, broadcast, graphic design, literary magazine, design and writing contests.
There were 197 winning students comprising 37 superior, 70 excellent and 90 honorable mention awards.
All the competitors had their submissions assessed by teams of judges, and those critiques are available at the NSMC website. Contestants can log in with their username and password to view their critiques.
Certificates and medals for the winners were mailed to schools.
In place of the traditional on-site critique session, each contest’s lead judge has created a video critique. Critique videos provide information about the contest and what the judges were looking for in the winning entries.
Judges also share some of their thoughts about what some of the strengths were in the category and what are some general areas to look to improve in the future. The contest prompts and the critiques are great resources for classroom lessons and preparation for future contests.
In addition, through SmugMug students and advisers can view thousands of photos from JEA photo contests in each of the nine categories. The site houses all of the photos that have been recognized in past conventions so users can learn from those student photographers.
SmugMug has an interface that discourages copying of images and allows full display of metadata including camera data and captions. So photojournalists really can break down the photo to discuss technique, composition and the meaning of the images.
“While we are certainly looking forward to being able to offer our 46 National Student Media Contests in person again at a traditional National High School Journalism Convention, we are appreciative of the JEA member schools who took advantage of the opportunity this fall to compete virtually,” JEA contest chair Nancy Smith, MJE, said. “The team of critics and judges who evaluate all of our student entries provide some great feedback and make the event not just a contest, but a real learning experience for everyone who participates.”
Fall National Student Media Contest results
| Rating | Contest Name | Full Name | School Name | School State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior | Newswriting | Vish Gondesi | Huron High School | MI |
| Excellent | Newswriting | Alyssa Schulz | Prospect High School | IL |
| Excellent | Newswriting | Evan Lu | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Newswriting | Grace Martin | Spring Branch Middle School | TX |
| Superior | Editorial Writing | Yaopeng He | Severn School | MD |
| Excellent | Editorial Writing | Olivia Kim | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Editorial Writing | Brielle Lampf | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Honorable Mention | Editorial Writing | Chloe Highsmith | Salina Central High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Editorial Writing | Charlie Yale | Omaha Central High School | NE |
| Superior | Feature Writing | Peter Pu | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Excellent | Feature Writing | Atarah Israel | Munster High School | IN |
| Excellent | Feature Writing | Morgan Dawson | Mercer Island High School | WA |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Hiba Samdani | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Claire Kim | St Paul Academy and Summit School | MN |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Rylee Dang | Emmaus High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Isabella Anderson | Lawrence North High School | IN |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Amelia Jarrett | Westford Academy | MA |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Writing | Gina Ko | Huron High School | MI |
| Superior | Sports Writing | Cameron Sullivan | Prospect High School | IL |
| Excellent | Sports Writing | Morgan Vehige | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Jack Nitz | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Lalitha Viswanathan | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Adrianna Nehme | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Hanah Kitamoto | Iowa City West High School | IA |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Abby Bagby | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Alex Levin | Mercer Island High School | WA |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Elizabeth Duerholz | Emmaus High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | James McDermott | Westford Academy | MA |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Writing | Quinn Newhouse | Huron High School | MI |
| Superior | Review Writing | Makayla Archambeault | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Excellent | Review Writing | T ©a Tamburo | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Excellent | Review Writing | Jui Bhatia | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Lance Locker | Adlai E Stevenson High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Sophie Henschel | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Ellie Noh | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Brenna Walters | Argyle High School | TX |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Thomas Hartill | Emmaus High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Review Writing | Emily Malone | Padua Academy | DE |
| Superior | Editorial Cartooning | Yuting Pu | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Superior | Editorial Cartooning | Lena Hardisty | Mercer Island High School | WA |
| Excellent | Editorial Cartooning | Cecilia Urbanski | Omaha Marian High School | NE |
| Excellent | Editorial Cartooning | Caoimhe Farris | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Editorial Cartooning | Ari Bowman | Emmaus High School | PA |
| Honorable Mention | Editorial Cartooning | Tarik Fermin | Huron High School | MI |
| Superior | Commentary Writing | Bayarmaa Bat-erdene | Adlai E Stevenson High School | IL |
| Excellent | Commentary Writing | Vijay Viswanathan | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Commentary Writing | Cebelli Pfeifer | Woodside High School | CA |
| Excellent | Newspaper Layout | Celia Condon | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Excellent | Newspaper Layout | Kevin Lynch | Prospect High School | IL |
| Superior | Newsmagazine Layout | Marissa Mathieson | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Excellent | Newsmagazine Layout | Caroline Gould | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Newsmagazine Layout | Sabrina San Agustin | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Superior | Press Law and Ethics | Jacob Molina | Dos Pueblos High School | CA |
| Superior | Press Law and Ethics | Melanie Duronio | Westford Academy | MA |
| Excellent | Press Law and Ethics | An Ngo | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Excellent | Press Law and Ethics | Shreya Vaidhyanathan | Conestoga High School | PA |
| Excellent | Press Law and Ethics | Lin Luo | Emmaus High School | PA |
| Excellent | Press Law and Ethics | Elise Hsu | Carlmont High School | CA |
| Honorable Mention | Press Law and Ethics | Domenic Fenoglio | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Press Law and Ethics | Joe Shem | University Preparatory Academy | CA |
| Superior | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Sports | Claire LeDuc | Parkway West High School | MO |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Sports | Katie Baffa | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Sports | Ashley Dickey | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Sports | Riley Ramirez | Munster High School | IN |
| Superior | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Layla Halilbasic | Oakville High School | MO |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Anthony Messerly | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Jenaya Ripko | Brighton High School | CO |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Hannah Lifton | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Mallory Stirrat | Parkway West High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Peter Stern | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Academics | Simona Terek | Munster High School | IN |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Kaylee O’Dell | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Lilly Francis | Parkway West High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Katherine Adams | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Elise Aho | Brighton High School | CO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Sarina Zhao | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Clubs | Halsey Hooper | Omaha Central High School | NE |
| Superior | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Lillian Coe | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Excellent | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Srinithi Raj | Westford Academy | MA |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Greyson Imm | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Emma Meyer | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Valeria Welk | Omaha Central High School | NE |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Claire Graver | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Copy/Caption: Student Life | Fiona Ferguson | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Superior | Yearbook Layout: Theme | Anusha Singh | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Layout: Theme | Faith Rost | Salina Central High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Layout: Theme | Sydney Lupo | Prospect High School | IL |
| Superior | Yearbook Layout: Inside Pages | Kiana Saghafi | Westlake High School | TX |
| Excellent | Yearbook Layout: Inside Pages | Jillian Brawner | Junction City High School | OR |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Layout: Inside Pages | Abby Rinehart | Humboldt High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Layout: Inside Pages | Madi Suenram | Salina Central High School | KS |
| Superior | Yearbook Cover/Endsheets | Karsyn Arnold | Salina Central High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Yearbook Cover/Endsheets | Rumi Sait | Westlake High School | TX |
| Superior | Literary Magazine: Layout | Rhea Patney | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Layout | Isabela Flores | McGill-Toolen Catholic High School | AL |
| Superior | Literary Magazine: Poetry | Sarah Dent | Dos Pueblos High School | CA |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Poetry | Alena Zhang | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Poetry | Eliza Farley | St Paul Academy and Summit School | MN |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Poetry | McGowin Grinstead | McGill-Toolen Catholic High School | AL |
| Honorable Mention | Literary Magazine: Poetry | Juli Mejia | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Superior | Literary Magazine: Illustration | Katherine Li | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Illustration | Jillian Cate | McGill-Toolen Catholic High School | AL |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Photography | Vivian Rong | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Excellent | Literary Magazine: Photography | Myrna Jalkh | McGill-Toolen Catholic High School | AL |
| Superior | Graphic Design: Logo | Michael Zimmerman | O Fallon Township High School | IL |
| Excellent | Graphic Design: Logo | Henry Hofferth | Munster High School | IN |
| Honorable Mention | Graphic Design: Logo | Katie Claunch | Park Hill South High School | MO |
| Superior | Graphic Design: Infographics | Julia Moser | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Graphic Design: Infographics | Olivia Hu | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Superior | Graphic Design: Advertising | Sophia Ismail | Adlai E Stevenson High School | IL |
| Excellent | Graphic Design: Advertising | Peyten Galloway | Humboldt High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Graphic Design: Advertising | Angela Castor | Argyle High School | TX |
| Superior | Graphic Design: Photo Illustration | Nora Hill | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Excellent | Graphic Design: Photo Illustration | Joanne Sung | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Graphic Design: Photo Illustration | Owen Aanestad | Iowa City West High School | IA |
| Honorable Mention | Graphic Design: Photo Illustration | Alison Togami | Dos Pueblos High School | CA |
| Excellent | Themed Photo | Cedrik Von Briel | Woodside High School | CA |
| Honorable Mention | Themed Photo | Finn Wenta | Park Hill South High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Themed Photo | MaKayla Finch | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Superior | Sports Action Photography | Macy Crosser | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Superior | Sports Action Photography | Jalen Rodgers | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | Sports Action Photography | Lindsey Farthing | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Excellent | Sports Action Photography | Kyle Button | Francis Howell North High School | MO |
| Excellent | Sports Action Photography | Aric Shah | Westlake High School | TX |
| Excellent | Sports Action Photography | Alex Daggett | Argyle High School | TX |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Action Photography | Yena Son | Cherry Hill High School East | NJ |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Action Photography | Kelsea Wilson | Parkway West High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Action Photography | Josiah Ricks | Junction City High School | OR |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Action Photography | Maggie Grant | Inland Lakes High School | MI |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Action Photography | Madison Lamb | Combs High School | AZ |
| Excellent | Sports Feature Photography | Ellison Gracik | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Excellent | Sports Feature Photography | Sophie Pallman | Arapahoe High School | CO |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Feature Photography | Maggie Merckens | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Feature Photography | Hannah Mekky | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Sports Feature Photography | Katelyn Black | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Superior | Feature Photography | Kaitlyn El-Sayegh | Whitney High School | CA |
| Superior | Feature Photography | Cassie Bess | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | Feature Photography | Katherine Hamilton | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Excellent | Feature Photography | Arya Sharma | Westlake High School | TX |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Photography | Tina Safron | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Photography | Celia Cooper | Park Hill South High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Photography | Sarah Stavnes | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Feature Photography | Allison Mi | Huron High School | MI |
| Excellent | General or Spot News Photography | Emma Kate Squires | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Excellent | General or Spot News Photography | Alex Porter | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | Photo Story | Rose Weidemann | Brighton High School | CO |
| Excellent | Photo Story | Charlotte Chengary | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Photo Story | Rachel Bingham | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Superior | Photography Portfolio | Dacie Ritch | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | Photography Portfolio | Jessica Witt | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Excellent | Photography Portfolio | Andrew Burke-Stevenson | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Photography Portfolio | Elise Madden | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Photography Portfolio | Rachael Barkoff | Westlake High School | TX |
| Superior | Portrait Photo | Josh Fritz | Argyle High School | TX |
| Excellent | Portrait Photo | Logan Holman | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | Portrait Photo | Ridhima Kodali | Huron High School | MI |
| Honorable Mention | Portrait Photo | Hiba Issawi | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | Portrait Photo | Kate Dickson | Junction City High School | OR |
| Honorable Mention | Portrait Photo | Malcolm Taylor | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | Portrait Photo | Cali Shohet | Carlmont High School | CA |
| Superior | First-Year Photo | Marissa Kolly | Inland Lakes High School | MI |
| Superior | First-Year Photo | Joe Wyman | Richland R-1 School | MO |
| Excellent | First-Year Photo | Breanna Provance | Lindbergh High School | MO |
| Excellent | First-Year Photo | Bailey Thompson | Blue Valley Northwest High School | KS |
| Excellent | First-Year Photo | Mya Hailey | Park Hill South High School | MO |
| Excellent | First-Year Photo | Matt Petres | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | IL |
| Excellent | First-Year Photo | Sophie Dent | Dos Pueblos High School | CA |
| Honorable Mention | First-Year Photo | Riley Eck | Shawnee Mission East High School | KS |
| Honorable Mention | First-Year Photo | Krina Shah | Westlake High School | TX |
| Honorable Mention | First-Year Photo | Ethan Boersma | Munster High School | IN |
| Honorable Mention | First-Year Photo | Mollly Gusloff | Prospect High School | IL |
| Honorable Mention | First-Year Photo | Kayleigh Butler | Whitney High School | CA |
| Excellent | Broadcast News Story | Ava Lacey | Tupelo High School | MS |
| Superior | Broadcast Sports Story | Savannah Jarman | Wichita Southeast High School | KS |
| Excellent | Broadcast Sports Story | Maddie James | Tupelo High School | MS |
| Honorable Mention | Broadcast Sports Story | Eva Beidle | Oakville High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Broadcast Sports Story | Cierra Bradley | Oakville High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Broadcast Sports Story | Philip Soliz | Independence High School | TX |
| Honorable Mention | Broadcast Sports Story | Saisha Agarwal | Independence High School | TX |
| Superior | Broadcast Feature Story | Sarah Buzzell | Tupelo High School | MS |
| Excellent | Broadcast Feature Story | Emily Johnson | Oakville High School | MO |
| Excellent | Broadcast Commercial/PSA | Bianca Ward-Washington | Archbishop Carroll High School | DC |
| Excellent | Broadcast Commercial/PSA | Deneilia Thaxter | Archbishop Carroll High School | DC |
| Honorable Mention | Videography | Katherine Lytle | Prospect High School | IL |
| Excellent | Short Documentary | Charlie Dahlgren | Prospect High School | IL |
| Excellent | Short Documentary | Sloan Dial | Argyle High School | TX |
| Excellent | Video Package Editing | Kiana George | Carlmont High School | CA |
| Honorable Mention | Video Package Editing | Joey Weaver | Lafayette High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Video Package Editing | John Harris | Liberty North High School | MO |
| Honorable Mention | Video Package Editing | Margaret Patterson | Padua Academy | DE |
| Superior | Online News Package | Candice Anvari-Ghasr | Beverly Hills High School | CA |
| Superior | Online News Package | Emma Newman | Beverly Hills High School | CA |
| Superior | Online News Package | Ava Spina | Beverly Hills High School | CA |
| Excellent | Online News Package | Anushka Patil | Westford Academy | MA |
| Excellent | Online News Package | Kristen Su | Westford Academy | MA |
| Excellent | Online News Package | James Farley | Westford Academy | MA |
| Excellent | Broadcast Newswriting | Ava Iannucci | Padua Academy | DE |
Lindsay Porter