Huron High School and Clague Middle School’s publications, The Huron Emery, The Enthymion, and The Cougar Star, attended the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this past weekend. The convention was sponsored by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) and Journalism Education Association (JEA), organizations that are dedicated to supporting student journalism.
The convention included the largest gathering of scholastic journalists, advisers and journalism teachers in the nation. Students were recognized for their published works, as well as had the opportunities to give presentations and compete in various on-site writing contests.
One of the significant individual successes for The Huron Emery this year was Website Editor-in-Chief Emily Hu’s Honorable Mention for Portfolio of the Year – Multimedia Journalist of the Year.
“It was really exciting to see Emily shine,” adviser Sara-Beth Badalament said. “I’ve been teaching her since she was in sixth grade when she participated in Cougar Star at Clague. She has always had a knack for tying verbals and visuals together.”
Additionally, Hu gave a presentation on how to conduct interviews and collaborated with The Huron Emery’s Chief Content Editor Anjali Nadarajah on a presentation on how to cover a school board meeting.
Nadarajah also competed in a feature writing competition, where she was awarded an honorable mention. Nadarajah’s presentation hosted a full room of interested advisers and journalists.
“I was a bit nervous at first because I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had never experienced something like this before,” Nadarajah said. “However, I was surprised by how much I was able to learn from everyone in the room, and I enjoyed being able to share my knowledge and experience with other passionate journalists.”
The students also did much exploring and sightseeing in Philadelphia, visiting Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, Rocky Steps, Chinatown and Reading Terminal Market over the course of their time.
“I had so much fun there this year,” Hu said. “I spent a lot of time working on the website during the days and really got the chance to take time out to make it as good as it can be. I also got to meet a lot of new people from various schools. I would definitely go again.”
