Journalist of the Year Scholarships

Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht Scholarships, named for JEA’s longtime treasurer, recognize the top high school journalists in the country. The contest begins at the state level. Winning portfolios from state Journalist of the Year competitions are sent to the national level, with winners announced at the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. JEA sends scholarship funds — $3,000 for the top winner, and $1,000 each for up to four finalists — to the winner’s college or university account.

Contact your JEA state director for instructions on state contest submission. The tools on this site were designed for use at state and national contests, but candidates need to verify the procedures listed here are what they should do to enter their state first. For national Journalist of the Year submissions, all entries must be digital. There are resources available here to help candidates get moving on the process. Advisers should share direct prospective applicants to this web page.

Applicants and advisers should review each of the following links to learn more about the application process.

Deadlines:
Round 1: Check state submission deadlines.
Round 2: State-winning portfolios must be submitted to JEA by March 10.
If there is an area of this site that is lacking, please send an email to Joe Humphrey so we can enhance our content to be more user friendly.

Contest Requirements & Guidelines

Learn about JEA’s Journalist of the Year scholarship competition with program coordinator Joe Humphrey. In the video below, he will look at the process, the rubric, best practices for creating a student portfolio and more.

Please note two updates that have been made after production of this video:

• Applicants are no longer required to have two years of scholastic journalism experience, though most will.
• JEA has increased the number of finalists to four and the finalist scholarship amount to $1,000.

Requirements

Students applying for JEA’s Journalist of the Year must complete the requirements and guidelines listed below as a part of their portfolio:

• Deadlines: All entries on the state level should be submitted to the state director/designated official by the state deadline. After judging is complete at the state level, the state director/designated official can return the winning state entry to the student for minor revisions/corrections suggested by the judging panel.
• All state winners’ applications for the national contest are due by 11:59 p.m. CDT, March 10.
• Applicant’s adviser must be a current JEA member.
• Applicant must be a senior in high school or equivalent for international schools.
• To compete for a JEA scholarship, the portfolio must be a state JOY award winner. Students in states without a state director should submit their portfolios to the JEA director whose name will be listed under the state name. Applicants from outside the United States should submit their entries to JEA’s global engagement director. At the judges’ discretion, up to three international portfolios (with no more than one per country) may advance to the JEA competition.

Guidelines

State JOY winners will complete an online application that requires them to provide contact information, upload a transcript, upload three letters of recommendation, upload a resume and upload a personal narrative about their scholarship journalism experience. Students will also submit a link to an online portfolio of their work. Applications are strongly encouraged to review the updated JOY rubric and watch the Portfolio Polish videos.

1. Candidates should complete the online application. Before completing, read the following:

• Be prepared to fill out the application at one time, as there is not an option to save one’s work and continue later.
• Students should write their personal narrative and create their résumé somewhere else (i.e. Word Document, Google Doc), and be prepared to attach as a PDF to their application.
• Scan or convert your transcript and letters of recommendation to PDFs to upload when prompted as part of the application process.
• You will need a URL (Internet address) for your online portfolio showing your work examples.

2. Candidates should create an online portfolio for examples of their work, and organize it based on the categories outlined on the judging rubric:

• Reporting and Writing
• Editing, Leadership and Team Building
• Design
• Broadcast Journalism
• Photojournalism
• Web and Social Media
• Law, Ethics and News Literacy
• Marketing and Audience Engagement
• Commitment to Diversity (Note: Work in this area can also be embedded in other categories in lieu of creating a dedicated category in the portfolio)

3. Each artifact within the portfolio should be accompanied by a clear, concise revealing reflection that outlines the following:

• If published, the evidence of usage/publication of example should the candidate see it fit to include
• If entered in any contest, how the work example placed if applicable
• An explanation/reasoning for each example. The explanation/reasoning includes the applicant’s explanation about the specific assignment. Include any difficulties encountered with the assignment and special circumstances affecting it. Explanation should typically be less than 100 words in length), easy to read and should explain why this entry is important and was chosen for the portfolio.

FAQ’s

What information will I need to complete the application?

State winners or designees who complete the application will need the following:

• Student and adviser contact information
• Up to three letters of recommendation combined into a single PDF
• A personal narrative
• A resume
• A link to the applicant’s portfolio, which must be public and not password protected
• A transcript or counselor statement
• An “action photo” of the applicant
• A portrait or school photo of the applicant
• Social media handles for the applicant, winner and winner’s publication(s)
• Contact information for local media and stakeholders such as school district leaders
• Applicant future plans, if known

Is this contest for seniors only?

Yes, eligible applicants must be seniors or equivalent for international schools. It is never too early, however, to start building a portfolio of work examples. That can start at any time.

Is this contest only for those majoring in journalism or related field for college?

No

Can a candidate skip entering the state contest and apply only for the national contest?

No, candidates who enter the national contest must be the winner of their state contest.

What if my state does not offer an online contest?

If you are the state’s winner, you would need to convert your portfolio and other materials to digital format before submitting the national contest.

What if I’m an international student?

Applicants from outside the United States should submit their entries to JEA’s global engagement director. Up to three international portfolios (with no more than one per country) may advance to the JEA competition at the judges’ discretion. High school seniors (or students in the equivalent final year of secondary school) are encouraged to enter and must be nominated by a JEA member adviser.

Can a candidate submitting for the state contest use the form on JEA’s website?

No, the online submission form on JEA’s website is for the national contest only. At the state level, candidates should contact their state director to obtain submission.

Are there any limits on how many work examples a candidate can enter?

Because the contest is digital, there is no limit. But keep in mind that judges only have a certain amount of time to review a portfolio. So quality over quantity is important when considering what work to include. The goal is to showcase the student journalist.

Is there a certain resume format to use? Or are there requirements of what to include on a resume?

There is not a particular format to use for the resume. Again, the goal is to showcase the student journalist. Listing experience that qualifies a candidate for this contest is important. Like the work examples, narrow down and choose quality over quantity.

Do work examples need to be in published format?

This is a two-part answer:

1. If the work has been published, it is not required to be submitted in its original context. It is important, however, for candidates to prove themselves as student journalists. For most cases, the judges will view the published work examples as the more credible approach.
2. If the work has not been published, it still can be included, but the candidate must explain in the reflection/analysis why the work was included.

If a candidate has published work that was done outside of school, is that acceptable to enter?

Yes. Candidates are welcome to include work not in their school media as part of their work examples.

What should be included with each work example?

Each work example for the portfolio must be labeled with:

• The applicable category
• If published, the evidence of usage/publication of example should the candidate see it fit to include
• If entered in any contest, how the work example placed if applicable
• Published or non-published, an explanation/reasoning for each example. The explanation/reasoning includes the applicant’s explanation about the specific assignment. Include any difficulties encountered with the assignment and special circumstances affecting it. Explanation should typically be less than 100 words in length), easy to read and should explain why this entry is important and was chosen for the portfolio.

Who should a candidate ask to write their letters of recommendation?

Candidates should ask those who know them best and can speak to the significance of their journalism experience.

Can a candidate post the letters of recommendation and/or transcript on the portfolio website?

These items are required to be uploaded for the national contest. This information should be kept private.

Journalist of the Year Resources

JEA Application for state winners
Portfolio Polish videos
Judging Rubric (PDF)
Past Winners
State Submission Deadlines