Lion newspaper reporter wins Sports Story of the Year

Congratulations to Lyons Township High School’s Lion newspaper and staffers who brought home awards from the recent National Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Education Association national high school journalism convention in Washington D.C.

Recent graduate and former Lion reporter Steven Campbell earned an award for Sports Story of the Year, and Joe Okkema’s editorial on Common Core earned him an honorable mention in the Editorial of the Year category. It’s been 12 years since any other Lion reporter was nominated or won any such distinction. To read Campbell’s award-winning profile on basketball player Jim Cullen or Okkema’s editorial, click on the link below.
http://studentpressblogs.org/nspa/2014-nspa-story-of-the-year-finalists/

In addition to the convention contests and seminars, Lion staffers toured Newseum, a museum that champions the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and entertainment, and students saw the nation’s monuments at night.

The convention was one of the bigger ones to date, with more than 6,200 students attending.

Steven Campbell (2014 grad) Western Springs; First Place, Story of the Year Award, Sports writing
Joe Okkema (Senior) LaGrange; Honorable Mention Story of the Year Award, Editorial

Individual Awards:
Michael Rasmussen (Senior) Western Springs; Superior Award, Press Law & Ethics
Lidia Breen (Senior) LaGrange; Excellent Award, Review Writing
Joe Okkema (Senior) LaGrange; Excellent Award, Editorial Writing
Gillian Dunlop (Senior) Western Springs; Excellent Award, Newswriting
Will Most (Senior) LaGrange Park; Honorable Mention, Commentary Writing
Anika Ranginani (Senior) Burr Ridge; Honorable Mention, News Editing/Headline Writing
Joe Rossetti (Senior) Brookfield; Honorable Mention, Sports Writing
Mary Hadley (Senior) LaGrange Park; Honorable Mention, Social Media Reporting
Grace Gumbiner (Senior) LaGrange Highlands; Honorable Mention, Social Media Reporting