Oct. 29, 2021

National Scholastic Press Association announces the finalists in its 2021 Design of the Year competition.

Winners in this and all Individual Award categories, as well as the NSPA Pacemaker Awards in Broadcast, Newspaper/Newsmagazine and Specialty Magazine, will be announced virtually at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021.

Finalists are alphabetical by state.

Register for the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, presented virtually Nov. 1, 2021, to Jan. 15, 2022.

Enter the Best of Show competition for the fall virtual convention.

Register for the Philadelphia Storytelling Workshop.

NSPA’s first in-person Pacemaker Master Class will be presented Nov. 11-13, 2021, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

“The end of an era”
Ivan Delgado, Andre Rodas, Ani Tutunjyan
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California

“Ballot Battles”
Sarena Wilkerson, Lukas Goodwin, Connor Daly
The BluePrint
Hagerty High School
Oviedo, Florida

“I’ll get off my phone in a few minutes …”
Anthony Young, Lana Salahieh, Atarah Israel
Crier
Munster High School
Munster, Indiana

“Practice (And Payments) Make Perfect”
Catherine Erickson, Julia Percy, Trevor Paulus, Sarah Golder
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

“Fighting AAPI hate through a children’s book”
Vish Gondesi
The Huron Emery
Ann Arbor Huron High school
Ann Arbor, Michigan

“FDA approves Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15”
Hazel Waltenbaugh
The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota

“Free speech on social media: where is the line?”
Maddie Genoways
The Network
Marian High School
Omaha, Nebraska

“Mind over media”
Jamie Mahowald, Ekansh Tambe, Robert Pou
The ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“That’s a Wrap”
Delaynie Keeney
The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas

“The many faces of homelessness”
Delia Tuttlebee, Alex Norton
The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas

“Echoes of the past”
Madhavi Karthik, Miya Liu, Erin Loh, Katherine O’Dell
The Epitaph
Homestead High School
Cupertino, California

“Constantly Aware: Shalhevet’s Fred Leach describes being Black in LA”
Sarah Feuer
The Boiling Point
Shalhevet High School
Los Angeles, California

“Homeless & vulnerable”
Ivan Delgado, Antony Nepeyvoda
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California

“It’s Time to Break the Silence”
Catherine Erickson
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

“What we’ve learned … what we’ll miss”
Noa Gross
The Rubicon
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota

“Elephant in the Room”
Sophie Grand
Tower
The Masters School
Dobbs Ferry, New York

“The Generational Gap”
Faith Lawrence
The Dispatch
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas

“Teaching the past to prepare students for their futures”
Samantha Freeman, Tracy Tran
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas

“Our hidden issue one year later”
Luke Piazza, Jamie Mahowald
The ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“Runs in the family”
Sarah Johnson, Delia Tuttlebee
The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas

“What we learned from those who feel invisible”
Allison Robbert, Sophia Roberts, Anna Jones
The Muse
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida

“Fight Like A Woman”
Riley TerBush
HiLite
Carmel High School
Carmel, Indiana

“Generation of Growth”
Mitri Krishna, Erin Reece
The Express
Blue Valley Northwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“A Blow to the Budget”
Siri Chevuru
The Standard
Blue Valley Southwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Through the Window”
Mia Goldstein, Ella Rosewarne
The Communicator Magazine
Community High School
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Fall 2020
Emily Barron
Knight Errant
Benilde-St. Margaret’s School
St. Louis Park, Minnesota

“Where do we go from here?”
Grace Walton, Kevin Ward
The Bugle
Eureka High School
Eureka, Missouri

“Our COVID Reality”
Julia Franco
Featherduster
Westlake High School
Austin, Texas

“Let’s talk about censorship”
Joleigh Underwood
The Bridge Magazine
Bridgeland High School
Cypress, Texas

“Asian American discrimination and why it must end”
Alexandria Gagnon
The Saxon Scope
McLean High School
McLean, Virginia

“Power of the Press”
Tyler Cho, Shivani Verma, Brian Xu
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California

“Wish Week”
Serena Nguyen
Elevate Magazine
Regis Jesuit High School
Aurora, Colorado

“Destroying Democracy”
Julia Landy
The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

“Shifting Schedules”
Travis Newbery
The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

“Mandatory Voting”
Allison Robbert 
The Muse
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts
West Palm Beach, Florida

“Underpaid, Unappreciated, Unprotected”
Andrew Bachrach, Jaidyn Holt
The Trinity Voice
Trinity Preparatory School
Winter Park, Florida

“New Name, Same Game”
Zoey Guo
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa

“Smile, You’re On Camera”
Catherine Erickson
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

“The Disconnect —
A look at the impact of remote learning”
George Totonjie, Emily Condon
Pilot’s Log
Hasbrouck Heights High School
Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey

“Playing Fair”
Joleigh Underwood
The Bridge Magazine
Bridgeland High School
Cypress, Texas

“Not Fade Away”
Kellyn Scheel
C Magazine
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California

“Butterfly Effect”
Alexa Gwyn, Brooke Glasson
C Magazine
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California

“Elemental”
Reese Lansman
Artifex
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

Political Issue cover
Merry Schlarman, Graesen Joyce, Audrey Blaine
The Kirkwood Call
Kirkwood High School
St. Louis, Missouri

Fall 2020
Adelaide Witte, Emma Gunn
Burn Magazine
Marian High School
Omaha, Nebraska

Cover
Claire Shi
Roars and Whispers
Providence Senior High School
Charlotte, North Carolina

“Preserving American Democracy”
Cristian Pereira, Jerry Zhao
Focus Magazine
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“I can’t breathe”
Cristian Pereira, Jamie Mahowald
Focus Magazine
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“The Lost Art”
Bianca Diaz, William Anderson, Emily Stringfellow
The Lost Art
McKinney High School
McKinney, Texas

Volume 72
Walker Simmons, Jimmy Kweon
The Talon
Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest, Virginia

“Butterfly Effect”
Brooke Glasson, Alexa Gwyn
C Magazine
Palo Alto High School
Palo Alto, California

“Elemental Opening”
Reese Lansman
Artifex
Majory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

“I Know Too Much of Naps”
Lucy Hines, Natalie Ripps
Iliad Literary-Art Magazine
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia

“Common culture”
Mia Rice
The Tiger Print
Blue Valley High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Standing for Social Justice”
Sarina Charpentier, Gavin Kimmel, Nikolas Liepins
Iris: Art + Lit
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
St. Paul, Minnesota

“Stay”
Brittany Jiang, Kennedy Maloney
Earthwinds
Jackson Preparatory School
Flowood, Mississippi

“Chasing butterflies”
Jonathan Obele, Aiden Kaplan
Roars and Whispers
Providence Senior High School
Charlotte, North Carolina

“Why here? Why now?”
Cristian Pereira, Cooper Cole
Focus Magazine
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“How to play God: a step-by-step guide”
Minjae Hur, Sophia Pandit, Yudam Chang
The Tartan
McLean High School
McLean, Virginia

“Let Art Prevail”
Pen Oldham, Walker Simmons
The Talon
Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest, Virginia

“Trust the process”
Eileen An, Kayla Ramos, Rhea Rose, Sarah Hinnant
Fusion
Hagerty High School
Oviedo, Florida

“All hyped-up”
Matthew Cunningham
Indian
Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Mahika Meesa”
Katie Forsen
Illumination
Blue Valley West High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Power of Fifteen”
Katheryn Nachtigal, Camille Dissel
The Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas

“20 Things You Missed in 2020”
Alex Behn
Tesserae
Corning-Painted Post High School
Corning, New York

“Bring the heat”
Lindsey Plotkin, Bella Russo
The Knight
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas

“Heart”
Luke Martin, Josh Mysoré
Marksmen
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“A movement for change”
Luke Martin, Camden Reeves
Marksmen
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“We Feel Scared”
Ellen Zeng, Nidhi Patil
Techniques
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, Virginia

“This is Real”
David Dablo, Alanna Jimenez
El Corazón
El Camino Real Charter High School
Woodland Hills, California

“If you’re wondering what it would be like”
Jespyn Bishop
Reflections
Brighton High School
Brighton, Colorado

“You can’t make this up and that’s the truth”
Allison Gomez, Mia Marchiori, Sasha Menchaca
Etruscan
Glenbrook South High School
Glenview, Illinois

“yeah, this is kinda”
Evan Whitaker
Indian
Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Don’t Get Us Started”
Alan Ong, Jessica Stott, Sandra Amores
The Howl
Southwest Career and Technical Academy
Las Vegas, Nevada

“Be A/Part of the Whole”
Alivia Jiang
Tesserae
Corning-Painted Post High School
Corning, New York

“tbd”
Grace Conlan, Ryan Kinney
Lone Star
James Bowie High School
Austin, Texas

“M”
Staff
Marksmen
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“Subject to Change”
Staff
The Talon
Foster High School
Richmond, Texas

“We know exactly how you feel”
Staff
Techniques
Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology
Alexandria, Virginia

“Vaccine Statistics”
Rachel Jiang
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California

“Mythbusters”
Lily Singer
The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

“Majority Rules”
Ashley Ferrer
The Eagle Eye
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida

“All Things Cyberpunk”
Riley TerBush
HiLite
Carmel High Scool
Carmel, Indiana

“Tech Issues”
Carlos Mata
Indian
Shawnee Mission North High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Hot Takes”
Rebecca Suku
The Standard
Blue Valley Southwest High School
Overland Park, Kansas

“Quarantine Questionnaire”
Tess Mendelson, Arava Rose, Addie Bassin
Dimensions
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
Rockville, Maryland

“Summer traveling”
Hannah Zuniga
The Knight
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas

“My Normal Summer”
Evan Zhao
Carillon
Bellaire High School
Bellaire, Texas

“By the Numbers”
Hannah Brown, Madelynn Cruz, Aniyah Steele
Kodiak
Bridgeland High School
Cypress, Texas

“A Pandemic of Anti-Asian Violence Hits Close to Home”
Makayla Huerta
The Wildcat
Brea Olinda High School
Brea, California

“COVID 19 Diagnosis”
Alanna Jimenez
El Corazón
El Camino Real Charter High School
Woodland Hills, California

“Profile: Justin Levy”
Alanna Jimenez
El Corazón
El Camino Real Charter High School
Woodland Hills, California

“Asian is not a Virus, Racism is”
Melissa Liu
The Messenger
Northview High School
Johns Creek, Georgia

“Losing Myself”
Madison Graff, Teagan VanBlarcom
The Lair
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas

“Close Call”
Sammi Meeks, Ayrianna Smith, Katey Bustamante
The Lair
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas

“In My Mind”
Elizabeth Clarke, Kennedy Maloney
Earthwinds
Jackson Preparatory School
Flowood, Mississippi

“Competing for the soul of the nation”
Cooper Cole
The ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas

“Altering the dress code”
Gabe de la Crux, Diane Guo
Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas

“Civically minded/blinded”
Forrest Meng
tjTODAY
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Alexandria, Virginia