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2010 WINNERS
NINA honors three top
high school journalists
NINA honored three talented student journalists in its 13th annual Northern Illinois High School Journalist of the Year scholarship competition this spring.
A total of $1,850 in scholarships was awarded, including $1,500 from NINA and $350 from The Daily Herald.
NINA presents scholarships each spring to high school seniors who demonstrate the standards of honesty, integrity, attention to detail, hard work, creativity and an understanding and commitment to quality journalism.
Students are asked to submit an autobiographical essay, letters of recommendation and a portfolio of their work. John Etheredge, NINA scholarship coordinator, said judges were impressed with the high quality of work they found in the students’ portfolios.
“I’ve participated in the scholarship judging since NINA started the program 13 years ago and I can say without hesitation that this was one of the strongest groups of applications we have ever received,” Etheredge said. “It was very difficult for our judges to select the winners.”
He noted that this was the first year that two of the three scholarship winners came from the same school, Bartlett High School.
NINA and its member papers have awarded a total of $18,250 in scholarships since 1998. As in previous years, The Daily Herald also contributed funds for this year’s scholarship winners.
“On behalf of NINA and the scholarship committee, I want to thank The Daily Herald for its continued support of our program,” Etheredge said.
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First PlaceAllison PrangBartlett High School |
‘A tenacious journalist’
NINA judges selected Allison Prang as the 2010 Northern Illinois High School Journalist of the Year based on the professional quality of her work as editor of the Bartlett High Hawk Eye; as a columnist for her local paper, the Bartlett Examiner; and as a correspondent for The Daily Herald.
Joe Grimm, a visiting editor at Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, wrote, “Allison Prang is no one to mess with. Sure, she seems nice, but do not be fooled like I was. She is a tenacious journalist and she always gets her story.
“Take a look at her resume … she does it all. And she will do it all,” Grimm wrote.
Tony Sanders, chief of communications for School District U-46, wrote of Prang: “Give her 20 seconds of your time and she will overwhelm you with her energy. Give her five minutes and she will impress you with her intelligence and level of maturity.”
Jill Flanagan, a teacher and adviser for the Bartlett High student newspaper, described Prang as one of the most self-motivated students she has ever taught.
“Allison has the qualities of a fair, honest, objective reporter and team member, and I am confident in her abilities to attain success as part of the journalism field,” Flanagan wrote.
In her autobiographical essay, Prang wrote that she’d like to be an investigative reporter.
“I aspire to be the next Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein because of my indescribable passion for journalism and the effect it can have on society. I really like the thought of pursing a career in the harder side of journalism, like investigative reporting, because I have a passion for bringing a voice to the truth.”
Prang received a total scholarship award of $950: $750 from NINA and $200 from The Daily Herald. She plans to attend the University of Missouri this fall.
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Second placeJimmy Hibsch Rolling Meadows |
‘A good paper was made great’
Jimmy Hibsch was selected by NINA judges for second place based on his work as editor in chief of The Pacer, Rolling Meadows High School’s award-winning student newspaper.
“Excellence and passion and Jimmy Hibsch go hand-in-hand,” wrote Stan Zoller, an English and journalism teacher at Rolling Meadows. “He is always looking for creative ways to make the paper more visually exciting through imaginative layouts or fascinating graphics.
“Under Jimmy’s leadership, The Pacer has not wavered from its tradition of outstanding writing and reporting,” Zoller added. “Jimmy finds stories throughout the communities the paper covers — whether it’s the student body, the school board or the local city council.”
Charles Johns, principal at Rolling Meadows, described Hibsch as a “unique high school journalist” who has made “an indelible impression on the school, the community and me. Through his leadership, a good paper was made great.”
Superintendent David R. Schuler wrote that Hibsch has done an outstanding job as reporter and two-year editor in chief of The Pacer: “In my 10 years as superintendent, I have never had the privilege of having a student journalist of Jimmy’s ability.”
In his autobiographical essay, Hibsch said he lives and breathes journalism.
“Journalism has taken me to unimaginable places—places where many high school student only dream of going. What career will allow me to interview the secretary of state one day and meet a chart-topping band’s singer for coffee at Starbucks’ the next? I will never quit,” he wrote.
Hibsch plans to study journalism at the University of Missouri. He received a scholarship of $600: $500 from NINA and $100 from The Daily Herald.
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Third placeKourtney LiepeltBartlett High School |
‘Wrote to make my voice heard’
NINA judges picked Kourtney Liepelt for a third-place scholarship based on her work as a reporter and editorial/opinions editor for Bartlett High School’s student newspaper, The Hawk Eye.
Judges were especially impressed with several of the well-reasoned and highly readable editorials Liepelt wrote for The Hawk Eye.
Judges also took note that Liepelt and some of her friends organized a student newspaper at a local elementary school, and she won a first place award for column writing at a high school journalism camp hosted by Indiana University.
Jill Flanagan, faculty adviser for the Hawk Eye, described Liepelt as an “outstanding choice” to receive a NINA scholarship.
In a letter of recommendation, Flanagan noted that the student newspaper that Liepelt and her friends organized at the elementary school helped inspire “young students to learn more about the role of journalism in a democratic society.”
In her autobiographical essay, Liepelt said she discovered her interest in becoming a writer at an early age.
“At the age of 5, most girls picture themselves growing up to be a princess straight from a Disney movie. They believe that magic can provide them with anything their hearts may desire,” she wrote. “I, on the other hand, aspired to become a writer. I did not need to be swept off my feet by some handsome prince when I held the power to give others that same weightless feeling with my words. I wrote to express myself. I wrote to enrich my mind. I wrote to make my voice heard.”
Liepelt plans to continue her journalism education at Indiana University this fall.
She received a $300 scholarship: $250 from NINA and $50 from The Daily Herald.