Aug. 18, 2020

MINNEAPOLIS — Veronica Roseborough, of Carlmont High School, Belmont, California, has been selected as the winner of the $1,000 Wikoff Scholarship for Editorial Leadership from the National Scholastic Press Association.

In spring 2020, Roseborough was editor-in-chief of the Scot Scoop, the school’s online publication, and she led a staff of 130 student journalists.

The national scholarship includes a $1,000 award given to a high school senior on the staff of an NSPA-member newspaper with a minimum 3.5 grade point on a 4.0 scale or equivalent.

Justin Raisner, Scot Scoop adviser, said Roseborough excelled as a leader.

“In that role, she makes decisions about content, she leads other students, and she is ultimately responsible for delivering a finished product that is published online,” Raisner wrote in his nomination letter for Roseborough. “As a leader, she needs to manage people and personalities, she needs to motivate her peers, and she needs to communicate with adults and vendors professionally.” 

When he nominated Roseborough in February 2020, the Scot Scoop was a finalist for NSPA’s Pacemaker Awards, the association’s top honor for publications. On April 15, the Scot Scoop won a Pacemaker Award, one of only 16 online scholastic newspapers to be so honored.

“A huge reason for that is because of Veronica’s leadership,” Raisner wrote.

He noted her strengths as a writer and thinker, but also as an editor of the student journalists on her staff. As an example, he described how Roseborough patiently helped an enthusiastic reporter organizing a story’s content.

“Veronica spent hours working with this writer to guide and support the creation of the final product,” he said. “It’s one thing to be a great writer, but she’s also a great leader and a selfless team player.”

NSPA, the nation’s largest association of scholastic media, provides training and recognition of achievement to high school and middle school journalists. It serves hundreds students and their advisers with two national conventions each year, including the Fall National High School Journalism Convention, Nov. 19-22. NSPA’s renowned Pacemaker Awards honor the top scholastic newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, websites and broadcasts, and its individual awards celebrate student work through dozens of specific categories.

Wally Wikoff, the scholarship namesake, was NSPA executive director in the 1970s, and NSPA has offered the Wally Wikoff Scholarship for Editorial Leadership since 1998.

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