NSPA honors top digital storytelling in scholastic journalism

Digital Story of the Year

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Nov. 15, 2025

National Scholastic Press Association salutes the winners of its 2025 Digital Story of the Year competition.

NSPA’s Individual Awards are among the top prizes in scholastic media, and the awards are a showcase of journalistic excellence.

Winners were announced during the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Media Convention, on Nov. 15, in Nashville.

2025 Fall Convention Awards

Fall 2025 Pacemakers
Broadcast
Newspaper/Newsmagazine/ Specialty Magazine

2025 Individual Awards
Broadcast Story of the Year
Cartoon of the Year
Design of the Year
Digital Story of the Year
Photo of the Year
Story of the Year
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Fred Ross Systemic Change Student Journalism Competition
Local Climate Change Reporting
Portfolio of the Year
Best Use of Social Media

Nashville Best of Show
Individual Recognition
Staff Recognition

First Place
James Libresco, Noah Sternberg
Theogony
Alexandria City High School
Alexandria, Virginia
Plane Crash at DCA

Second Place
Mary Wang
The Gator
Brimmer and May School
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Gym Construction Disrupts Parking, Pick-Up, and Drop-Off

Third Place
Zimo Xie
The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota
Winter Formal Provides a Space to Decompress with Friends

Fourth Place
Isabelle Ling
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California
Media Interest Post-Election Shifts Towards Community Engagement

Fifth Place
Staff
Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
2024 Election Package

Honorable Mention
Addya Agarwal, Chloe Chu, May Lin, Anna Ypodimatopoulou
Scot Scoop
Carlmont High School
Belmont, California
Celebrate the Music 2025

Staff
Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Looking Back on Black History Month

Julia Abair, Chloe Blair, Abbey Elalouf, Ben Lehman, Clayre Woodruff
The Mix
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Setting Off the Truth

Mia Fagone, Evelynn Lin, Matthew Ramirez
The Panther Press
Strath Haven High School
Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Off or On?

Ainsley Jay, Karis Tam, Jeffery Zhang, Kyle Zhang
Wayland Student Press Network
Wayland High School
Wayland, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Reevaluates Graduation Requirement  

First Place
Staff
Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
After Apalachee

Second Place
Staff
The Redwood Bark
Redwood High School (Larkspur, CA)
Larkspur, California
A Compiled Report of the Current State of Social Media

Third Place
Achilles Caranto, Zelina Panissidi, Hunter Rhee, Adrienne Vera-Perez
Southwest Shadow
Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Las Vegas, Nevada
The Harmful Effects of a Modern Lifestyle

Fourth Place
Lydia Cruce, Shanza Sami
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Music On the Mind

Fifth Place
Gabe Cohen, Tavio Mares-Van Praag
The Gator
Brimmer and May School
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Beyond the Buzzer: A.J. Reeves

Honorable Mention
Mary Wang
The Gator
Brimmer and May School
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Sparking a School-Wide Push-Up Craze

Liz Liu
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
MVHS Alum Ruri Kobayakawa’s Journey as a Firefighter

Jay Deegan, C.J. Getting , Sarah Segvich
Central Times
Naperville Central High School
Naperville, Illinois
Youth Voices Amplified

Sophia Hsu, Yasmine Rivera
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
Period Stigma, Ignorance Bleeds Through Community

Oskar Doepke, Ruby Rogers
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
LGBTQ+ Students Grapple with Homophobia, Belonging

First Place
Wesley Brodeur, Christine Han, Joaquin Perez, Addyson Schick
WTV Daily Update
Liberty (Frisco) High School (TX)
Frisco, Texas
Memories Made as Redhawks Beat Memorial

Second Place
Minna Abdalla, Evelyn Kraber
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
How Women’s Wrestling Found a Home in Iowa City

Third Place
Tavio Mares-Van Praag
The Gator
Brimmer and May School
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
From Underdogs to Champions

Fourth Place
Minori Kunte, Hiral Patel
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Jain Exemplifying Taekwondo Excellence

Fifth Place
Zachary Ford
Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School
Kingwood , Texas
Reyes Emerges as Vocal Leader One Year After Joining Team, Learning English

Honorable Mention
Jack Cranmer, Keva Elie, Aaron Linden, Charlotte Nesevich
WordsWorth
Moorestown Friends School
Moorestown, New Jersey
Super Bowl LIX: The Game, the Show, and the Experience

Thomas Chen
The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota
Track and Field Shines at Conference Championships

Riley Smith, Matteo Ventresca
The Panther Press
Strath Haven High School
Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Girls Soccer Wins State Championship

Noelle Quintin, Laila Taraporevala
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
John Farmer Reflects on Journey from Varsity Athlete to Director of Athletics

Seyun Park
The Pitch
Walter Johnson High School
Bethesda, Maryland
Volleyball Spikes Past Vikes, Advances to First Regional Final in 12 Years

First Place
Staff
U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Moments of Intensity

Second Place
Seth Johnson
Voice
Vandegrift High School
Austin, Texas
Varsity Boys Basketball Upsets Westlake

Third Place
Matthew Ramirez
The Panther Press
Strath Haven High School
Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Cantata Returns to New York City

Fourth Place
Bryce Kenny, Olin Nafziger, Orlie Weitzman
U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Exchange Students Arrive from China

Fifth Place
Vera Marinescu
Spyglass
Westridge School
Pasadena, California
Documenting the Loss of My Home After the Eaton Fire

Honorable Mention
Lily Chen
The Spoke
Conestoga High School
Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Save Chinatown Coalition Organizes Rally

Kayla Nguyen
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Cowgirls Pummel Lady Cavaliers in State Championship, 6-2

Caroline Kraft
FHCtoday
Francis Howell Central High School
Cottleville, Texas
Springing Toward the End

Andrew Collaku
The Oracle
Glenbrook South High School
Glenview, Illinois
V-Show Unites South Performers

Jay Deegan, C.J. Getting, Sarah Segvich
Central Times
Naperville Central High School
Naperville, Illinois
2024 Democratic National Convention

First Place
Ben Mueller, Morgan Sicklick
The Redwood Bark
Redwood High School (Larkspur, CA)
Larkspur, California
Board of Trustees Discusses Yondr Phone Pouch Implementation

Second Place
Frances Bell, Tekle Skiles-Januta
Spyglass
Westridge School
Pasadena, California
Annual Spyglass Senior Survey

Third Place
Zoe Karibian, Rania Raj
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
Confronting Racist Humor Culture in School Community

Fourth Place
Alan Tang
The Highlander
McLean High School
McLean, Virginia
McLean Community Mourns D.C. Plane Crash Victims

Fifth Place
Bea Roberts
The Pitch
California
Bethesda, Maryland
Looking Back on My Year Abroad in Germany

Honorable Mention
Harper Coleman, Audrey Waters
The La Salle Falconer
La Salle Prep
Milwaukie, Oregon
How U.S. Paid Leave Policy Fails Families

Lillian Gray
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
Lack of AC Becoming a More Heated Issue

Micaela Rubinsky, Amari Witt
M-A Chronicle
Menlo-Atherton High School
Atherton, California
M-A’s Most Significant Demonstrations Through Time

Thomas Chen
The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota
Explore Our Local Reviews

Maya Diaz
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
Controversial Book Bans Spark National Debate in Schools

First Place
Lucas Trexler, Townes Widger
DPNews
Dos Pueblos High School
Goleta, California
Around the Track: Behind the Popularity of Track and Field

Second Place
Emma Lai
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Our Journey to Worlds

Third Place
Light Dohrn
U-High Midway
University of Chicago Laboratory High School
Chicago, Illinois
Dungeons & Dragons Fosters Creativity, Connection

Fourth Place
Maggie Stone
On the Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
Missing Work

Fifth Place
Kaarlo Anderson, Arthur Bonifield, Kevin Ngo
DPNews
Dos Pueblos High School
Goleta, California
Fishy Business

Honorable Mention
James Libresco, Will Price, Isabel Shultz
Theogony
Alexandria City High School
Alexandria, Virginia
Dissecting DEI

Staff
CCNN Live
Christopher Columbus High School
Miami, Florida
A Conversation with Mayor Francis Suarez

Rhea Chowdhary, Wendy Le
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Once a Cowpoke, Always a Cowpoke

Hila Hakimi, Vitalina Ulitovska
DHS Press
Dominion High School
Sterling, Virginia
Crying Over College

Aletheia Ju, Yixuan (Joyce) Li
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
On Our Own Frequency

First Place
Harper Coleman
The La Salle Falconer
La Salle Catholic College Preparatory
Milwaukie, Oregon
How U.S. Paid Leave Policy Fails Families

Second Place
Maddy Park
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Older Presidents’ Cognitive Abilities Restrict Their Competency

Third Place
Daryna Hriaznova
The Pearl Post
Daniel Pearl Magnet High School
Lake Balboa, California
“When a few air raid alarms interrupted us”

Fourth Place
Staff
The Shield Online
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
300 Words

Fifth Place
Mabrey Stokes
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas
Astros Fans Grapple with Minute Maid Park’s Name Change

Honorable Mention
Sydney Ortiz
Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School
Kingwood, Texas
“In the Heights” Amplifies Cultural Pride

Lea Garcia-Salazar
WTV Daily Update
Liberty (Frisco) High School (TX)
Frisco, Texas
The Benefits Behind Taking Naps

Isabelle Kok
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Ill-Advised

Bela Parrett
The Northmen’s Log
Oak Park High School
Kansas City, Missouri
Bela’s Movie Blog: “Nosferatu”

Sarah Alvarez-Martin
The Standard
The American School in London
London , England
Feast or Flop: Cucumber Salad