Young Journalists Garner Prizes At Recent Competition

ROUND ROCK, TX -- These kids may very well be future Pulitzer Prize winners in the making.

McNeil High School students and recent grads were recently named “Gold Circle Award” winners for yearbook and digital media work by the prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

“We are so proud of these students and excited to see their work recognized at the national level,” McNeil Principal Courtney Acosta said. “Our journalism students have a tradition of producing quality work and that legacy lives on this school year.”

District officials said the awards recognize superior work by student journalists. The McNeil student-run online newspaper “The Trailblazer,” and the Mavericks yearbook illustrated student work in the national competition.

Among the winners:

• 1st place Caption Writing: senior Aina Khan (“Back to Back”)
• 1st place Sports Photo: senior Will Nichols (“Juke Box Hero”)
• 1st place Photography Portfolio: senior Will Nichols

Students awarded Gold Circle Awards for their work in the Maverick yearbook were:

• 2nd place Headline Writing: senior Shelby Thompson and 2015 graduate Joel Teal (“No Plate Like Home”)
• Certificate of Merit Academics Writing: senior Shelby Thompson (“Case Closed”)
• Certificate of Merit Sidebar Writing: senior Zane Johnson (Sports Center JV Volleyball)
• Certificate of Merit Design Portfolio: 2015 graduate Lilia Dinh

“I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon,” Tom Stoppard once famously said.

If that be so, then McNeil High School journalism students are clearly well-equipped for the future.