During the course of this year, Harker’s upper school journalism students have won a number of prestigious awards. Here is a look back at honors the students have received from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and the Journalism Education Association (JEA).

Of special note were first-place wins from the CSPA by seniors Apoorva Rangan, Jessica (“Fred”) Chang and Priscilla Pan. Working together, Chang and Pan took first place in the video feature package for a piece about making mint chocolate soufflé, titled “In a Nutshell: Mint Chocolate Souffle.”

Ellen Austin, who directs Harker’s upper school journalism program, noted that the video was very innovative, and on the cusp of big trends both culturally and journalistically. “The fact that this won over other more ‘traditional’ videos is a mark of the innovative approach they are taking,” she said.

The CSPA is an international student press association whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisors at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchanges, textbooks, critiques and award programs. CSPA is affiliated with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

The NSPA is a nonprofit organization for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conventions across the country. The NSPA is considered to be one of the most prestigious award bodies in high school journalism, comparable to the Pulitzer Prize. 

The National High School Journalism Convention is a semiannual gathering of high school journalists and advisors sponsored by the JEA and the NSPA. The associations partner to prepare hundreds of practical and professional learning sessions.

Below are the 2014-15 awards received by Harker’s journalism students:

Publication Awards

CSPA Silver Crown, April 2015: Presented for the year’s work for Winged Post 2013-14: Nikil Dilip, then grade 12, and Meena Chetty, then grade 12 (editor-in-chiefs)

Winged Post, Third Place, Broadsheet 17+ pages, Best of Show, Denver, Spring JEA/NSPA National Journalism Conference

Aquila, Fourth Place, Publication Website Small School, Best of Show, Denver, Spring JEA/NSPA, National Journalism Conference

Winged Post, Seventh Place, Broadsheet 17+ pages, Best of Show, Washington D.C., Fall National Journalism Conference, November 2014

Individual Awards

NSPA Story of The Year (presented November 2014): Mariam Sulakian, grade 12, Honorable Mention

Sports Multimedia, Story of the Year competition

Shay Lari-Hosain, grade 11, Honorable Mention, Infographics, Design of the Year competition

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Newspaper Awards, print work (September 2014)

First Place, Photo Layout; Portfolio of Work: Apoorva Rangan, grade 12

Second Place, Feature Page Design Portfolio of Work: Apoorva Rangan

Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital Awards, online work, (February 2015)

First Place, Video Feature Package: Jessica Chang, grade 12, and Priscilla Pan, grade 12, “In a Nutshell: Mint Chocolate Souffle,” Harker Aquila

Third Place: Video Feature Package: Jessica Chang and Priscilla Pan, “In a Nutshell: Bruschetta,” Harker Aquila

Second Place, Personal Opinion, Off-Campus Issues: Shay Lari-Hosain,“The Middle East: A Muslim Perspective,” Harker Aquila

Third Place, Humor: Kathryn Duan, grade 10, and Alex Jang, grade 12, “A Guide to Commuting Across Campus,” Harker Aquila