Yelm Student Journalists Earn Recognitions at National Conference
Story by Whitney Littlefield
Yelm High School senior Sarah Moore was named Washington State High School Journalist of the year by the Washington Journalism Education Association.
Moore received the award at the JEA national conference, which was held in Seattle over the weekend, during an awards session on Saturday, April 14. The conference was attended by nearly 3,000 high school journalists from all over the country. In order to be considered for the award, Moore had to submit a portfolio of her work, a personal essay, her high school transcripts, and letters of recommendation to the WJEA. She said she did not expect to win.
"I definitely didn’t see it coming," Moore said. "But it makes me feel good that all the opportunities were worth it, that all the hard work paid off."
Along with the award, Moore received a $750 scholarship. She plans to attend Washington State University and major in journalism.
Moore participated in photojournalism last year, taking many pictures for Yelm High School’s publications, and is one of the senior section editors for the school’s yearbook this year. Besides journalism, Moore takes part in other school activities such as FFA, Jazzline, Interact Club, and National Honors Society.
In addition to Moore, three other students earned recognitions in contests. Senior Yasmin Jungbauer earned an Honorable Mention for her Photoshop Artwork, junior Lyra Bertels earned an Honorable Mention for her yearbook cover and endsheet designs, and senior Jamie Jones received a Superior award for yearbook theme pages.
"It felt really good to get a superior," said Jones. "Because last year I got an excellent and this year I wanted to do better, so it was really exciting."
Jones plans to attend Western Washington University in the fall, and major in Graphic Design.
Journalism Adviser Robyn Fisher accompanied 12 yearbook, newspaper, and photojournalism students to the Washington State Convention Center, April 12-15. Students attended workshops on journalism topics, such as photojournalism, writing, layout and design, and participated in contests.
