JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention Highlights

In the NSPA Best of Show competition, Omaha Marian’s BURN literary magazine earned a 3rd place in the Literary Magazine category and Marian’s NETWORK Newspaper earned a 10th place in the small school newspaper division. To see ALL the BEST OF SHOW results, visit: https://studentpress.org/nspa/spring-2024-best-of-show/ “I’m very glad I was able to experience this convention. The…

mariandigitalnetwork

April 7, 2024

3–4 minutes

Best of Show, BURN, convention, jea/nspa, journalism, Kansas City, literary magazine, Network, newspaper

To see ALL the BEST OF SHOW results, visit: https://studentpress.org/nspa/spring-2024-best-of-show/

Ava Ellis ’27, Elizabeth Buescher ’25, Ella Thibodeau ’26 and Grace Tynan ’26 represented Marian at the National High School Journalism Convention in Kansas City, April 4 -6. The convention was sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Eleanor Thibodeau ’26 and Ava Ellis ’27 take a quick selfie in “The Link” between the convention Sheraton hotel, Crown Center and the Westin, where other convention activities were held. The students could chose from 200+ sessions to attend. Each one also competed in the National Student Media Contests.

“I’m very glad I was able to experience this convention. The student media contest I participated in taught me a lot that I’ll be able to bring to BURN magazine next year as a senior editor. I also got to hear journalists talk about their experiences in the news world and learned about careers in graphic design and photography. But personally, the best part of the convention was getting to know three future Marian Journalism girls who share my passion for news. I can’t wait to see what they bring to their Journalism classes.”
Elizabeth Buescher ’25

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to go on the trip to the National Journalism Conference. I’m glad I went because I learned an incredible amount of information and saw other publications from schools in other states. I was inspired to look into future jobs in journalism I never knew existed. I am excited for journalism next year because writing and sharing my love for certain topics is truly a passion of mine.”
Ava Ellis ’27

“I am so grateful to have been able to go on this trip to KC. I was able to learn so much about different parts of journalism I am interested in. I am excited to bring the information I learned into Journalism 1 and Broadcasting 1 next year. This was such an amazing experience, and it has made me even more excited to be a part of
Marian journalism next school year.”
Eleanor Thibodeau ’26

“My time at the National Journalism convention was one of the best opportunities I have experienced in my whole life. The memories I made from meeting a new friend to all the tools I learned to bring back to Marian were amazing. I am so thankful for being able to attend a school like this and being able to represent in this way. I can’t wait to see the future of this great journalism program and can’t wait to show others what I have learned.
Grace Tynan ’26

The Marian students and journalism adviser, Mrs. Marsha Kalkowski, take a quick shot with the cardboard versions of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on the first afternoon of the convention, April 4. Cardboard versions of Swift and Kelce were found in many places at the Kansas City convention venue. The student in-hotel entertainment option on Friday night was a tailgate party complete with bracelet-making, yard games, board games, karaoke and big screen concert viewings.

Field Day is always on the minds of Marian girls, but the three different grade levels caused no concerns on this journalism trip. The Class of 2027’s theme, “Freshmen Finding Our True Colors” was easy to celebrate in the Crown Center Crayola Store. The group had a small amount of free time on the first afternoon before the Keynote Address by National Geographic photographer, Jim Richardson. Take a look at some of his photos here: https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/

2 responses to “JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention Highlights”

Ms. Sisson

April 8, 2024 at 10:37 am

I’m glad you had such a great experience at the national journalism convention in Kansas City! Thanks for representing Marian so well.

Loading…

Reply
Mrs. Smith

April 9, 2024 at 4:50 pm

Congratulations to all of you for your hard work to represent Marian at the NSPA in KC!!!!

Loading…

Reply