Arkansas high school students win national journalism awards
Little Rock – Five Arkansas high school students won National Federation of Press Women journalism awards for work published last year in their student newspapers. The national contest is open to first place winners of the Arkansas Press Women high school journalism contest.
- Gareth Patterson of Bryant High School won first place for his feature photo in The Prospective.
- Elizabeth Harms of Southside High School in Fort Smith won second place for her editorial “Tests need refined focus on learning” in The Southworld.
- Katrina Ragsdale of Bryant High School won third place in feature writing for her story in The Prospective about dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Katie Smith of Fayetteville High School won third place for her double-truck layout in the Register.
- Jonathon Schmidt of Wynne High School won honorable mention for his opinion piece “War on Wikipedia” published in the Yellow Jacket.
The competition is open to students in grades 9-12 from across the country and is endorsed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Categories include photography, news, feature and sports writing along with editorials, columns and cartooning and layout design. National winners receive certificates, with first-place winners also receiving a $100 cash prize. The honors will be presented in August at NFPW’s annual conference being held this year in Chicago.
The five Arkansas students won first place awards in the Arkansas Press Women high school journalism contest in April. The state contest received more than 350 entries from 12 Arkansas high schools.
Arkansas Press Women is a non-profit association of professional communicators in journalism, public information, business, education and government from across the state.
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