South’s yearbook, The Etruscan, sent students to the Journalism Education Association (JEA) National Conference, where several students won awards, Kristen Porter, English Teacher and The Etruscan Adviser, said. Additionally, The Etruscan was a finalist for the Pacemaker, a national excellence award administered by the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), and won a Silver Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) in March, Porter said.
The JEA/NSPA National Student Media Contests were held in Seattle on April 24-26, where 873 students from around the country competed in both in-person and online contests, according to JEA. Of the four yearbook editors that competed, junior Maddie Meyer received Excellent for Sports Writing, and senior Nishela Abeysiriwardena and junior Jenevieve Frese received Honorable Mentions for Academics Writing and Student Life Writing, respectively, Porter said.
“I’m extremely proud, because this was their first time competing, and they earned recognition,” Porter said. “It’s really impressive.”
After South’s yearbook is published and distributed, it is sent out to various competitions, Porter said. Last year’s yearbook, Sounds About Right, was presented with the Silver Crown on March 21 through the mail, and the Pacemaker finalist plaque at JEA, Porter said. The Etruscan was one of 39 finalists for the crown awards, Columbia University stated.
“The CSPA [Silver and Gold] Crown Awards are the highest recognitions given by CSPA for student print,” Porter said. “Sounds About Right won the Silver Crown, [and] did not win [a] Pacemaker [Award], [but] was a finalist.”
The goal of The Etruscan is to capture memories from throughout the year, Meyer said. The yearbook community is built on the importance of documenting a variety of experiences that people can look back on after high school Meyer said.
“[The editors] call [The Etruscan] a history book because it is how we document the year,” Meyer said. “We try to catch all [the] big moments so people can look back at them [later on].”
