Steele’s poster design to represent Scholastic Journalism Week 2027
When Tessa Steele, a senior at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri, learned her poster design had won the 2027 Scholastic Journalism Week Student Poster Contest, she was in shock.
“I screamed,” she said.
For Steele, who plans to attend the University of Missouri to study journalism, developing the winning concept required both creativity and reflection.
“It was difficult for me at first. I didn’t really know where to start,” Steele said.
The winning poster was selected from among 17 entries submitted to celebrate the 2027 Scholastic Journalism Week theme: Start Here, Change Everything.
“Whether covering a championship game, celebrating student achievements, spotlighting important issues or preserving memories for future generations, student journalists are shaping the historical record of their communities while preparing to shape the world beyond them,” wrote JEA’s Scholastic Journalism Week committee on this year’s theme. “The journey starts with a single idea, a single question or a single story, but the possibilities are limitless.”
The SJW theme challenged Steele to think deeply about the impact student journalists can have on their communities. She started with a foundational aspect of journalism — newspaper — as the poster’s central visual element.
Steele’s passion for visual storytelling extends beyond journalism. She described herself as someone who has always been artistic, noting that drawing and visual communication have been important parts of her life since childhood.
“I grew up drawing all the time, and I’ve always just liked to see things visually,” she said. “It’s just been a way for me to interpret things.”
Steele’s poster design was one of three contest finalists, which also included Rose Bowden of The Woodlands High School in Texas, and Alisha Yoo of Alpharetta, Georgia.
The JEA community was invited to vote for the winner, with public voting taking place Sept. 24-30, 2026. From among the finalists, Steele’s poster received 43% of the final vote.
Along with a $500 grand prize, Steele’s winning poster will be printed and distributed with the winter edition of Communication: Journalism Education Today magazine, which is distributed to JEA members internationally.
“I did not realize it was going to be distributed to that many people,” Steele said. “That’s amazing. I didn’t know that.”
The student poster contest began in 2022, after the Scholastic Journalism Week committee was inspired to find a new way for students to have their artistic work published and distributed nationally. Steele’s design will be showcased at JEA events, featured in promotional materials, and displayed in classrooms worldwide.
“For a student preparing to begin a journalism career, this recognition represents both a significant achievement and a powerful reminder of the impact student voices can have,” said PJ Cabrera, MJE, Scholastic Journalism Week coordinator. “Steele’s work is going to be seen by so many people. That is something she should be proud of.”
The contest theme reflects student media’s transformative potential. Steele said ‘Start Here, Change Everything’ speaks to the journey young journalists take as they develop their skills and discover their ability to make a difference. She believes journalism gives students a unique platform to inform and influence not only their peers, but their wider community.
“We’re starting as ourselves, but then we can go out and change our community, change the nation, change the world,” Steele said.
And for Steele, it all started with an idea, a blank canvas and a theme that challenged student journalists everywhere to begin where they are and imagine what change can follow.