{"id":623383,"date":"2025-09-11T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T18:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/?p=623383"},"modified":"2025-09-10T21:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T02:26:42","slug":"2025-story-of-the-year-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/2025-story-of-the-year-finalists\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Story of the Year finalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sept. 11, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The National Scholastic Press Association has named 468 finalists in its popular Individual Awards competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winners will be announced at the NSPA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention<\/strong> <\/a>in Nashville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the winners are announced on Nov. 15, a gallery of the winners and honorable mentions will be shared on this website allowing student journalists and advisers to see all of the entries recognized in the competition. Slide shows featuring the winners will also be available for classroom use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to the finalists in the following Story of the Year contests \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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News Story
<\/a>Feature Story
<\/a>Sports Story
<\/a>Editorial<\/a>
Opinion
<\/a>Creative Writing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Individual Award finalists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Broadcast Story of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Cartoon of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Design of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Digital Story of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Photo of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Story of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reporting<\/strong>
<\/a>Reporting on Systemic Change<\/strong>
<\/a>Climate Change Reporting<\/strong>
<\/a>Portfolio of the Year<\/strong>
<\/a>Best Use of Social Media<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

News Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Zaid Naqvi
<\/strong>El Estoque
Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, California
The Future of Press Freedom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C.J. Getting
<\/strong>Central Times
Naperville Central High School, Naperville, Illinois
Confidential Student Information Released in District 203 Data Leak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tai Caputo, Lily Rantanen
<\/strong>The Little Hawk
Iowa City High School, Iowa City, Iowa
Targeted<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ember Klein
<\/strong>The Free Press
Free State High School, Lawrence, Kansas
Scaling Back Staffing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phoebe Morris
<\/strong>The Free Press
Free State High School, Lawrence, Kansas
Medicaid Cuts Impact Local Family<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allie Hauke
<\/strong>Spark
Lakota East High School, Liberty Township, Ohio
Crossing the Line<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caitlyn Concepcion
<\/strong>The Sidekick
Coppell High School, Coppell, Texas
Board Approves Pinkerton Consolidation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney Ortiz
<\/strong>Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood, Texas
Mayor Prepares as Kingwood Worries About Hurricane Season<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristie Min, Lennon Riedie
<\/strong>Featherduster
Westlake High School, Austin, Texas
Professional Learning Communities to be Removed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serena Liu, Vedanti Patil
<\/strong>The Horizon
Westwood High School, Austin, Texas
House Explosion Creates Community Commotion<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Feature Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Madison Thacker
<\/strong>The Mirror
Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys, California
Julian Pankowski Unscripted<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emlyn McKinney, Wyatt Meyer
<\/strong>Odyssey
Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
The Weight of the Scale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyatt Meyer
<\/strong>Odyssey
Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
After Apalachee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dominic Niyo
<\/strong>The Pinion
McKinley High School, Honolulu, Hawaii
Murder Case Breakthrough 50 Years Later<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lydia Cruce
<\/strong>West Side Story
Iowa City West High School, Iowa City, Iowa
Starboy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlotte<\/strong> Wissel<\/strong>
Hauberk
Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Brooklyn Adams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ian Chen, Anna Wu
<\/strong>The Tide
Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, Maryland
The 30-year Reign of Laura Goetz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Hofmann, Linyang Lee, Doan Nguyen, Hilton Sampson
<\/strong>ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, Texas
Women Among Men<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Hofmann, Linyang Lee, Hilton Sampson
<\/strong>ReMarker
St. Mark’s School of Texas, Dallas, Texas
The Lonely Generation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tara Behbehani
<\/strong>The Standard
The American School in London, London, United
Kingdom Christina Adane Elevates Youth Movement Through Advocacy, Art<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sports Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Siena Codekas
<\/strong>The Wildcat
Brea Olinda High School, Brea, California
Championship Seasons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julie Yang, Chris Jeon
<\/strong>Verde
Palo Alto High School
Verde, Palo Alto, California
Gently Down the Stream<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoey Perrine, Brenna Severson
<\/strong>The Mix
Monarch High School, Louisville, Colorado
Fallen Blades<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amelia Berkowitz
<\/strong>Inklings News
Staples High School, Westport, Connecticut
Underhanded, Undeterred; Wolff Turns Setback Into Success<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyatt Meyer
<\/strong>Odyssey Media Group
Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
CHS vs. Apalachee High School Varsity Football<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isabelle Leofanti
<\/strong>The Stampede
Metea Valley High School, Aurora, Illinois
Safety Concerns Rise as Turf Field Deteriorates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sofia Ball, Grace Rau
<\/strong>Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas
No Question<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ella Mohr
<\/strong>On the Record
duPont Manual High School, Louisville, Kentucky
What Are You Losing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abby Chong, Lauren Pinheiro, Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla
<\/strong>The Spoke
Conestoga High School, Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Field Hockey Wins State Championship for First Time<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney Ortiz
<\/strong>Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood, Texas
Pushing Through Pain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Editorial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Celine Chien, Tessa Ellingson, Ameya Nori, Ben Siegel, Celeste Zucker
<\/strong>M-A Chronicle
Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton, California
Mary Beth ThompsonIs What the District Needs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alan Tai
<\/strong>El Estoque
Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, California
Students Should Be Allowed to Vote in FUHSD Board Elections<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff<\/strong>
The Campanile
Palo Alto High School Campanile, Palo Alto, California
Pause Ethnic Studies Requirement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff<\/strong>
The Mirror
Van Nuys High School, Van Nuys, California
The Yondr Pouch Has Become LAUSD’s Million Dollar Failure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoey Perrine
<\/strong>The Mix
Monarch High School, Louisville, Colorado
Vote for the Planet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avni Bansal
<\/strong>The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
More Than a Check<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violet Newton
<\/strong>North Star
Francis Howell North High School, Saint Charles, Missouri
It’s Time for a Change to Knight Tim<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff<\/strong>
The Review
St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
There Is No Way to Put This Nicely: We Should Be Ashamed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff<\/strong>
Theogony
Alexandria City High School, Alexandria, Virginia
ACPS Is Set to Initiate a New Policy of Censorship<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff<\/strong>
Theogony
Alexandria City High School, Alexandria, Virginia
The Lamentable State of ACHS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Opinion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Maria Uribe Estrada
<\/strong>C Magazine
Palo Alto High School, Palo Alto, California
The Color Complex<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyatt Meyer
<\/strong>Odyssey
Clarke Central High School, Athens, Georgia
Letter From the Editor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Feinberg
<\/strong>The Prospector
Prospect High School, Mount Prospect, Illinois
Cultivating Religious Identity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Yi
<\/strong>The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Inclusion Under Fire<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annabel Hall
<\/strong>Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas
Sunrise, Sunset, Philadelphia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sage McCarthy
<\/strong>Northwest Passage
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kansas
Soundtrack of My Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Rothstein
<\/strong>The Communicator
Community High School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
You Have a Voice in This Election, Use It<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey Heng
<\/strong>The Spoke
Conestoga High School, Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Jeff’s Gist: I Hate Men<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lillian Gray
<\/strong>The Shield
McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
The Human Toll of Political Lies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rawya Hazin
<\/strong>The Edge
Pleasant Grove High School, Texarkana, Texas
The Art of Pretension<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Creative Writing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

listed by state<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Henry Slaughter
<\/strong>Pawprints
H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, Florida
Vignettes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Iglesias
<\/strong>Pawprints
H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, Florida
The Plight of Music<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alyssa Gao
<\/strong>Silent Voices
Woodward Academy, College Park, Georgia
1. Are You Supposed to Be Here Rght Now? Mark One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeighna Diaz
<\/strong>The Pinion
McKinley High School, Honolulu, Hawaii
The Dinner Table<\/p>\n\n\n\n

River Jennison
<\/strong>Menagerie
Lyons Township High School, La Grange, Illinois
Pressure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Via Campbell
<\/strong>Iris: Art + Lit
St. Paul Academy and Summit School, St. Paul, Minnesota
Chapter 11<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha Lyons
<\/strong>Odyssey
James Bowie High School, Austin, Texas
A Painting of a Pink Fairy Armadillo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenny<\/strong> Chu<\/strong>
Vibrato
The Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas
Animal Blues<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aashna Kapur
<\/strong>The Tartan
McLean High School, McLean, Virginia
How to Fall to Pieces, Artfully<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava Zhang
<\/strong>The Tartan
McLean High School, McLean, Virginia
Life Measured in Bites<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sept. 11, 2025 MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The National Scholastic Press Association has named 468 finalists in its popular Individual Awards competition. The winners will be announced at the NSPA Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville. After the winners are announced on Nov. 15, a gallery of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623383"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":623555,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623383\/revisions\/623555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentpress.org\/nspa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}