NSPA honors top scholastic reporting & feature writing

Story of the Year

News Story • Feature Story
Sports Story • Editorial • Opinion

Nov. 15, 2025

National Scholastic Press Association salutes the winners of its 2025 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
Phoebe Morris
The Free Press
Free State High School
Lawrence, Kansas
Medicaid Cuts Impact Local Family

Second Place
Serena Liu, Vedanti Patil
The Horizon
Westwood High School
Austin, Texas
House Explosion Creates Community Commotion

Third Place
Tai Caputo, Lily Rantanen
The Little Hawk
Iowa City High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Targeted

Fourth Place
Kristie Min, Lennon Riedie
Featherduster
Westlake High School (TX)
Austin, Texas
Professional Learning Communities to be Removed

Fifth Place
Caitlyn Concepcion
The Sidekick
Coppell High School
Coppell, Texas
Board Approves Pinkerton Consolidation

Honorable Mention
Ember Klein
The Free Press
Free State High School
Lawrence, Kansas
Scaling Back Staffing

Sydney Ortiz
Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School
Kingwood, Texas
Mayor Prepares as Kingwood Worries About Hurricane Season

Allie Hauke
Spark
Lakota East High School
Liberty Township, Ohio
Crossing the Line

Zaid Naqvi
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
The Future of Press Freedom

C.J. Getting
Central Times
Naperville Central High School
Naperville, Illinois
Confidential Student Information Released in District 203 Data Leak

First Place
Wyatt Meyer
Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
After Apalachee

Second Place
Charlotte Wissel
Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Brooklyn Adams

Third Place
Matthew Hofmann, Linyang Lee, Doan Nguyen, Hilton Sampson
ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
Women Among Men

Fourth Place
Lydia Cruce
West Side Story
Iowa City West High School
Iowa City, Iowa
Starboy

Fifth Place
Dominic Niyo
The Pinion
McKinley High School
Honolulu, Hawaii
Murder Case Breakthrough 50 Years Later

Honorable Mention
Emlyn McKinney, Wyatt Meyer
Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
The Weight of the Scale

Ian Chen, Anna Wu
The Tide
Richard Montgomery High School
Rockville, Maryland
The 30-year Reign of Laura Goetz

Matthew Hofmann, Linyang Lee, Hilton Sampson
ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Dallas, Texas
The Lonely Generation

Tara Behbehani
The Standard
The American School in London
London, United Kingdom
Christina Adane Elevates Youth Movement Through Advocacy, Art

Madison Thacker
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
Julian Pankowski Unscripted

First Place
Sofia Ball, Grace Rau
Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
No Question

Second Place
Wyatt Meyer
Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School
Athes, Georgia
CHS vs. Apalachee High School Varsity Football

Third Place
Siena Codekas
The Wildcat
Brea Olinda High School
Brea, California
Championship Seasons

Fourth Place
Isabelle Leofanti
The Stampede
Metea Valley High School
Aurora, Illinois
Safety Concerns Rise as Turf Field Deteriorates

Fifth Place
Abby Chong, Lauren Pinheiro, Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla
The Spoke
Conestoga High School
Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Field Hockey Wins State Championship for First Time

Honorable Mention
Ella Mohr
On the Record
duPont Manual High School
Louisville, Kentucky
What Are You Losing?

Sydney Ortiz
Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School
Kingwood, Texas
Pushing  Through Pain

Zoey Perrine, Brenna Severson
The Mix
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Fallen Blades

Julie Yang, Chris Jeon
Verde
Palo Alto High School  Verde
Palo Alto, California
Gently Down the Stream

Amelia Berkowitz
Inklings News
Staples High School
Westport, Connecticut
Underhanded, Undeterred; Wolff Turns Setback Into Success

First Place
Staff
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys, California
The Yondr Pouch Has Become LAUSD’s Million-Dollar Failure

Second Place
Staff
Theogony
Alexandria City High School
Alexandria, Virginia
ACPS Is Set to Initiate a New Policy of Censorship

Third Place
Staff
The Review
St. John’s School
Houston, Texas
There Is No Way to Put This Nicely: We Should Be Ashamed

Fourth Place
Celine Chien, Tessa Ellingson, Ameya Nori, Ben Siegel, Celeste Zucker
M-A Chronicle
Menlo-Atherton High School
Atherton, California
Mary Beth Thompson Is What the District Needs

Fifth Place
Avni Bansal
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
More Than a Check

Honorable Mention
Staff
Theogony
Alexandria City High School
Alexandria, Virginia
The Lamentable State of ACHS

Violet Newton
North Star
Francis Howell North High School
Saint Charles, Missouri
It’s Time for a Change to Knight Time

Zoey Perrine
The Mix
Monarch High School
Louisville, Colorado
Vote for the Planet

Alan Tai
El Estoque
Monta Vista High School
Cupertino, California
Students Should Be Allowed to Vote in FUHSD Board Elections

Staff
The Campanile
Palo Alto High School  Campanile
Palo Alto, California
Pause Ethnic Studies Requirement

First Place
Lillian Gray
The Shield
McCallum High School
Austin, Texas
The Human Toll of Political Lies

Second Place
Rawya Hazin
The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School
Texarkana, Texas
The Art of Pretension

Third Place
Sage McCarthy
Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Soundtrack of My Life

Fourth Place
Annabel Hall
Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Shawnee, Kansas
Sunrise, Sunset, Philadelphia

Fifth Place
Jeffrey Heng
The Spoke
Conestoga High School
Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Jeff’s Gist: I Hate Men

Honorable Mention
Wyatt Meyer
Odyssey
Clarke Central High School
Athens, Georgia
Letter From the Editor

Jessica Rothstein
The Communicator
Community High School (MI)
Ann Arbor, Michigan
You Have a Voice in This Election, Use It

Maria Uribe Estrada
C Magazine
Palo Alto High School  C Magazine
Palo Alto, California
The Color Complex

Amanda Feinberg
The Prospector
Prospect High School
Mount Prospect, Illinois
Cultivating Religious Identity

Michael Yi
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School
Prairie Village, Kansas
Inclusion Under Fire

First Place
River Jennison
Menagerie
Lyons Township High School 
La Grange, Illinois
Pressure

Second Place
Alyssa Gao
Silent Voices
Woodward Academy 
College Park, Georgia
1. Are You Supposed to Be Here Rght Now? Mark One.

Third Place
Via Campbell
Iris: Art + Lit
St. Paul Academy and Summit School 
St. Paul, Minnesota
Chapter 11

Fourth Place
Samantha Iglesias
Pawprints
H.B. Plant High School 
Tampa, Florida
The Plight of Music

Fifth Place
Samantha Lyons
Odyssey
James Bowie High School 
Austin, Texas
A Painting of a Pink Fairy Armadillo

Honorable Mention
Henry Slaughter
Pawprints
H.B. Plant High School 
Tampa, Florida
Vignettes

Jeighna Diaz
The Pinion
McKinley High School 
Honolulu, Hawaii
The Dinner Table

Aashna Kapur
The Tartan
McLean High School 
McLean, Virginia
How to Fall to Pieces, Artfully

Ava Zhang
The Tartan
McLean High School 
McLean, Virginia
Life Measured in Bites

Jenny Chu
Vibrato
The Hockaday School 
Dallas, Texas
Animal Blues