Late last week, senior Anna Vazhaeparambil was named a runner-up in the JEA Journalist of the Year contest. JEA recognized Vazhaeparambil for her dedication to improving coverage of junior varsity and girls sports. “While we would cover every single football game, for example, there would only be one or two articles written about softball or girls water polo,” she told JEA. Her mission to increase diversity in reporting informed her later work covering political events such as elections and protests. Jurors praised Vazhaeparambil for her perseverance and ability to cover a wide range of topics as well as her leadership qualities.
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March 5, 2021:
Senior Anna Vazhaeparambil, who serves as editor-in-chief of the student news website Harker Aquila, was selected as California Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association. As the California representative in JEA’s Journalist of the Year competition, her portfolio will be evaluated during the spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. The top winner will receive a $3,000 scholarship and up to three runners up each will receive an $850 scholarship. Vazhaeparambil also was awarded the top $500 prize in the Arnetta Garcin Memorial Scholarship, which she was eligible for because Harker journalism advisor Ellen Austin is a JEA of Northern California member.
On Thursday, the National Scholastic Press Association named the upper school newspaper The Winged Post a Pacemaker Award finalist in the High School Newspaper/Newsmagazine category. The newspaper is one of 60 finalists chosen from 190 students publications that entered the competition. The 24 Pacemaker winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on Nov. 21.
Three teams of judges exhaustively reviewed all of this year’s entries, which fell into three categories: Middle School/Junior High Newspaper/Newsmagazine, High School Newspaper/Newsmagazine and Specialty magazine. Publications were evaluated in areas including coverage, writing, design and photography.
In mid-April, the Journalism Education Association named senior Eric Fang one of its national runners-up in their Journalist of the Year contest. Among the qualities that judges noticed in Fang’s work were his strengths in storytelling and leadership, as well as his ability to learn new skills. Judge Leah Waters of Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas praised Fang for his “firm understanding of the importance of a free press for an electorate and democracy.”
As a runner-up, Fang as also been awarded a Sister Rita Jeanne Scholarship of $850.
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April 8, 2020:
Last week, senior Eric Fang was named the 2020 California Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association, becoming the first student in Harker history to win this recognition.
Fang has been highly prolific in Harker’s journalism department, contributing regularly to the Winged Post newspaper and student news website Harker Aquila. He has also served as news editor at the Winged Post and is currently its co-editor in chief. Fang has also been published in the San Jose Mercury News and the Stanford Daily, and presented on political reporting with other Harker journalists at the JEA/NSPA fall convention. His passion for the politics beat has led him to interview eight 2020 presidential candidates and travel to numerous town halls, rallies and protests. Last year, he visited Sonoma County to cover the aftermath of the Kincade wildfire, documenting the local community’s struggles through photos and interviews.
This contest requires entrants to submit portfolios that are judged on criteria such as news gathering, writing, editing, design and photojournalism. Judges also look for work that impacts communities, amplifies the voices of marginalized groups and increases awareness of pressing issues. Fang received high marks in every area, and is now in contention to be named Journalist of the Year. The winner will be announced April 16.
Harker journalism students spent Nov. 19-23 in Washington, D.C., attending the Journalism Education Association and National Scholastic Press Association’s Fall High School Journalism Convention, where the Winged Post newspaper received an NSPA Pacemaker award.
The upper school’s Winged Post newspaper was awarded the Pacemaker for the 2018-19 school year, which was the third Pacemaker in journalism department history, following a 2016 win for the upper school news website, Aquila, and the Winged Post’s first Pacemaker win in 2008. The Winged Post was one of just 19 school publications chosen from among 220 finalists. Aquila was awarded sixth place in Best of Show in the Website category.
Individual awards included an honorable mention for Social Justice Reporting for senior Mahika Halepete’s story on the refugee crisis, and another honorable mention in Local Climate Change Reporting for a story covering the Green New Deal by juniors Arya Maheshwari, Varsha Rammohan and Michael Eng, and sophomore Lucy Ge.
Honorable mentions were also won for 2019 Digital Story of the Year for coverage of the California Democratic Convention by seniors Eric Fang and Kathy Fang, and juniors Arushi Saxena and Anna Vazhaeparambil, and a story by Kathy Fang and senior Jessie Wang on biology teacher Thomas Artiss’ beekeeping hobby.
Last month, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) announced that two 2017-18 Harker journalism publications would receive Crown awards, the organization’s highest honor. The Winged Post was named a finalist in the High School Print News category, and the Talon yearbook was announced as a finalist later in the month. In March, the finalists will find out which level of Crown award they’ve received: gold or silver.
Upper school journalism teacher Ellen Austin noted that this will be “the first time that Harker journalism will receive multiple Crowns from CSPA in the same year, and it’s the first time that I, as an advisor, will have two publications that I advise getting Crowns at the same time.”
Last weekend, filmmaking educator Michael Hernandez gave a special workshop to Harker journalism students on video storytelling. Hernandez, who teaches at Mira Costa High School in Southern California’s Manhattan Beach, has spent nearly 20 years helping students develop projects that positively impact communities around the world. Recognized by PBS, Google and Apple for his innovative methods, he has traveled with his students on documentary trips to places including Guatemala, Vietnam and Cuba.
Over the course of the two-day workshop, students learned how to research, film, edit and publish stories in a short time period, exercising skills such as videography, interviewing and capturing sound. Students also practiced writing for broadcast formats and how to record voice-overs. The students used these skills in their video coverage of Saturday’s March for Our Lives rallies in San Jose and San Francisco, capturing footage of the marchers as well as reactions from students on the ground to create a powerful report of the events.
Harker Aquila, the upper school’s student news website, was recently named a finalist in the 2018 National Scholastic Press Association’s Online Pacemaker competition. One of the oldest scholastic journalism awards, the Pacemakers are awarded to a range of school media outlets, including newspapers, yearbooks and magazines. Pacemaker candidates are evaluated on criteria including content quality, design and photography.
Judging for the competition will take place until April, as NSPA judges make almost daily visits to Harker Aquila and other finalists’ websites to assess them and determine the winners, which will be announced on April 14.
Journalism teacher Ellen Austin congratulated the Aquila staff and contributors, applauding them for their “hard work all year long.”
Every year, student news publications from CSPA-member schools are selected to be Crown Finalists after a “head-to-head comparison,” the CSPA website states. Criteria considered in judging include design, writing, photography and coverage. Every Crown Finalist will be awarded either a Gold Crown or Silver Crown at the CSPA ceremonies, to be held in New York City in March.
In-depth news/feature story: “Behind the Statistics: Student Stories of Survival in Silicon Valley,” by Kaitlin Hsu, grade 12, Kshithija Mulam ‘17 and Meilam Steimle ‘17
First-person experience: “Stripping ‘Quiet’ of Its Negative Connotations,” by Sahana Srinivasan, grade 12
Cultural feature: “Top Binge-Worthy Shows to Watch During Spring Break,” by Sahana Srinivasan, grade 12
Photo story: “At the Pools,” by Kaitlin Hsu, grade 12
Photography/Portfolio of work: Ashley Jiang, grade 12
Informational graphics/Portfolio of work: Kaitlin Hsu, grade 12
Single-subject news or feature package, double-truck: “Science of Sleep,” by Sahana Srinivasan, grade 12
Last week, Harker’s upper school student newspaper, the Winged Post, became one of 49 student newspapers identified as finalists in the National Scholastic Press Association’s 2017 Pacemaker competition. A total of 275 student publications were in the running for this year’s Pacemaker award, which NSPA executive director called the organization’s “pre-eminent award.” Of these 49 finalists, 26 will be awarded Pacemakers. According to upper school journalism teacher Ellen Austin, this is the first time the Winged Post has been a finalist in the Pacemaker competition since the 2007-08 school year. Winners will be announced at the National High School Journalism Convention, held mid-November in Dallas.
Two students have recognized as national medalists in the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Soham Khan, grade 12, won a gold medal for his critical essay, “Understanding the Bolshevik and Stalinist Revolutions through the Music of Shostakovich: A Music-Historical Analysis,” and sophomore Katrina Liou’s painting “Sardines” won her a silver medal.
As a gold medalist, Khan is now eligible to attend the National Ceremony, held in New York City this June. Congratulations!
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Earlier this month, 60 Harker students were named regional winners in this year’s Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The awards, founded in 1923, recognize the creative work of young people in a wide variety of visual and literary disciplines.
Students were successful in many visual arts categories. Senior Irene Bashar received an honorable mention in architecture and industrial design. Debarati Chatterjee, grade 11, won a Gold Key in printmaking and two honorable mentions in digital art. Cynthia Chen, grade 9, was awarded an honorable mention in photography, and Gwyneth Chen, grade 11, received a Silver Key in sculpture and an honorable mention in jewelry.
Sophomore Rithika Devarakonda won a Gold Key in drawing and illustration, while Elizaveta Egorova, grade 10, won a Gold Key in digital art. Senior Alexa Gross hauled in an impressive eight awards, including Gold Keys in digital art and jewelry. She also won two Silver Keys in photography and a Silver Key in art portfolio, as well as honorable mentions in printmaking, art portfolio and digital art.
Senior Jeremy Harari won a Gold Key for his entry in photography, and Susan He, grade 10, received two Silver Keys and an honorable mention for her works in drawing and illustration. Kaitlin Hsu, grade 11, won four Silver Keys – two each in the painting, and drawing and illustration categories – and an honorable mention in painting.
Sophomore Jason Huang’s two entries in the painting category won him a pair of Silver Keys, and Ashley Jiang, grade 11, had great success in the photography category, winning three Silver Keys and an honorable mention. Raveena Kapatkar, grade 12, received a Silver Key in painting and an honorable mention in photography. Another senior, Angela Kim, won three Gold Keys, a Silver Key and an honorable mention in the design category.
Senior Sarisha Kurup earned a Gold Key and a Silver Key in painting, as well as an honorable mention for mixed media. Meanwhile, senior Isabel Lai collected an honorable mention and a Silver Key in drawing and illustration. Chen Yu Li, grade 12, was a big winner in drawing and illustration, winning a Gold Key and four Silver Keys. In addition, Li also received honorable mentions in art portfolio and painting.
Junior Millie Lin picked up a Silver Key in photography, and Katrina Liou, grade 10, won Gold Keys in both painting, and drawing and illustration, as well as honorable mentions in comic art and painting. Sophomore Erin Liu’s entry in photography won a Silver Key, while juniors Matthew McCallaCreary and Alexandra Michael picked up honorable mentions in digital art.
Senior Alex Mo won a Silver Key in photography, and junior Brandon Mo received a Silver Key and three honorable mentions in the painting category. Junior Kaitlyn Nguyen won a Silver Key in drawing and illustration, while fellow junior Raveena Panja earned a Silver Key in drawing and illustration and an honorable mention in comic art.
Senior Grace Park had a great showing this year, winning a Gold Key in painting and a Silver Key in photography, as well as honorable mentions in painting, art portfolio, and drawing and illustration. In photography, senior William Park and junior Abha Patkar received Silver Keys. Junior Alisa Su won an honorable mention in drawing and illustration. Senior Marti Sutton was very successful in painting, winning two Gold Keys and an honorable mention. He also received two honorable mentions in art portfolio.
Sophomore Catherine Wang won four awards in drawing and illustration – a Gold Key, two Silver Keys and an honorable mention. Elizabeth Yang, grade 10, also had success in drawing and illustration, winning a Silver Key and an honorable mention.
More than two dozen students also were recognized for their writing talents. Cynthia Chen, grade 9, earned a Gold Key in poetry and an honorable mention in flash fiction. Emily Chen, grade 11, was awarded an honorable mention in personal essay/memoir. Gwyneth Chen, grade 11, received a Silver Key in poetry and Ishani Cheshire, grade 10, earned an honorable mention in science fiction/fantasy. Junior Amy Dunphy received a Gold Key for her entry in flash fiction, while freshman Avi Gulati earned an honorable mention in critical essay and Mahika Halepete, grade 9, won a Silver Key in flash fiction.
Jacqueline He, grade 11, won a total of eight awards, earning four Gold Keys in poetry, two Silver Keys in short story and additional Silver Keys in flash fiction and poetry. Junior Amy Jin earned a Gold Key in critical essay, Silver Keys in critical essay and personal essay/memoir and an honorable mention in journalism. Soham Khan, grade 12, received a Gold Key in critical essay, and junior Jimmy Lin won Silver Keys in critical essay and journalism. Millie Lin, also grade 11, won a Gold Key in personal essay/memoir and an honorable mention in critical essay.
Sophomore Erin Liu was awarded a Silver Key in personal essay/memoir, Annie Ma, grade 9, won a Gold Key in poetry and Kalyan Narayanan, also grade 9, received an honorable mention in flash fiction. Amla Rashingkar, grade 9, won an honorable mention in short story and a Silver Key in poetry, and senior Andrew Rule received two honorable mentions in the short story category. Kismet Singh, grade 9, earned an honorable mention in flash fiction and junior Sahana Srinivasan won a Silver Key in poetry.
Earning four awards, senior Meilan Steimle received two Gold Keys in short story and personal essay/memoir, a Silver Key in short story and an honorable mention in short story. In personal essay/memoir, Satchi Thockchom, grade 11, won a Silver Key. Grade 9 student Nellie Tonev received an honorable mention for her work in the poetry category, and Shania Wang, grade 10, won honorable mention in personal essay/memoir. Derek Yen, grade 11, was awarded a Silver Key in critical essay and an honorable mention in poetry, and sophomore Alexander Young received a Silver Key in poetry and an honorable mention in personal essay/memoir.
Katherine Zhang, grade 10, hauled in five awards, winning Silver Keys for short story and personal essay/memoir and honorable mentions for poetry and two journalism entries. Senior Tiffany Zhu received a Gold Key for poetry and a Silver Key for short story.
As Gold Key winners, Cynthia Chen, Debarati Chatterjee, Rithika Devarakonda, Elizaveta Egorova, Jeremy Harari, Jacqueline He, Amy Jin, Soham Khan, Angela Kim, Sarisha Kurup, Chen Yu Li, Millie Lin, Katrina Liou, Annie Ma, Grace Park, Meilan Steimle, Marti Sutton, Catherine Wang and Tiffany Zhu are now eligible to receive national recognition. National medal awardees will be invited to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national events in New York City.
Congratulations to all the talented students featured here!