High School Journalists Take High Marks
High School journalists from Castro Valley's "Olympian" campus newspaper earned 31 awards this year. Students won multiple categories across the board after receiving honors from organizations such as California Press Women (CPW), Journalism Education Association of Northern California (JEANC), Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC), and California News Publishers Association (CPNA).
High School journalists from Castro Valley’s “Olympian” campus newspaper earned 31 awards this year. Students won multiple categories across the board after receiving honors from organizations such as California Press Women (CPW), Journalism Education Association of Northern California (JEANC), Outdoor Writers Association of California (OWAC), and California News Publishers Association (CPNA).
“I was a little surprised that I ended up winning such a nice amount, I was very excited,” said junior Mason Jordan, Olympian arts and entertainment editor. Jordan was a top winner, gaining recognition for a review about “Little Mermaid" (CPW), a feature photo (CNPA), as well as a news package called “Straight Out of Sacramento.” Jordan also won an award for the PSA video “Get to Know the First Amendment” (JEANC) that he directed.
“‘The Little Mermaid’ was my big awards achievement, but my favorite and personal best was my coverage of the Oscars,” reflected Jordan. “This year I was committed to sticking to my niche that I am passionate about.”
“My favorite part of journalism this year was the class discussions because I got to hear a lot of different perspectives,” said senior Melissa Boussaroque, who won in the enterprise news category with her favorite article “Advanced Classes Face Gender Imbalance” from CNPA.
“Joining journalism is a very fulfilling and worthwhile experience,” shared senior Kaitlyn Tchang. “Not only will you get to work with other amazing students, but you will also get to grow your skills in various areas, from photography to design, to writing and editing.”
Tchang received awards for feature writing “Wellness Center brings HEART to CVHS,” and profile “Spanish exchange students navigate CVHS.”
Overall, all editors encourage students who have an interest in writing to consider taking journalism in the future.
“My favorite part of journalism this year was making pages; it’s fun and it lets me be creative with layouts, and I’m excited to experiment more next year,” said junior Gavin Peters, Olympian opinion editor. “To incoming students, I’d like to say live your best life and write what you want to write about, have fun in class, and keep the stories coming.”
“My biggest piece of advice would be to not be afraid to talk to sources, especially teachers and other staff members because they are often the best ones,” said Boussaroque.
A complete list of award winners as follows:
California Press Women: Mason Jordan (review writing), Kaitlyn Tchang (feature writing), Kalaya Williams (editorial cartoon), Haku Kremer (sports photography), Shannan Chan (feature photography and environmental reporting), Ethan Dinh (podcast), Wyatt Franklin (podcast), Richard Paseman (graphics), Zoe Lawrence (editorial writing), Hailey Young (opinion writing).
Journalism Education Association of Northern California: Wyatt Franklin and Ethan Dinh (audio story), The Olympian (digital news package), Mario Joseph (digital arts and entertainment package), Victor Bahng (feature photo), The Olympian (PSA video).
Outdoor Writers Association of California: Victor Bahng (feature story and feature photo)
California News Publishers Association: The Olympian (online general excellence), Hakuto Kremer (sports action photo), Matthew Wong (writing and coverage of school administration), Melissa Boussaroque (enterprise news), Renata Gutierrez (sports action photo), Kaitlyn Tchang (profile),
Luis Ochea (columns), Mason Jordan (feature photo), Shannan Chan (feature photo).
The Olympian: Hailey Young (Olympian Rookie of the Year), Kaitlyn Tchang (Olympian Editor of the Year), Melissa Boussaroque (Olympian Hall of Fame).