Hawaii Baptist Academy was awarded its eighth consecutive win for “Best in State” at the annual 54th High School Journalism Awards ceremony Thursday.
The school’s newspaper, the Eagle Eye, took home a $200 award. Following in second place was Sacred Hearts Academy, which was awarded $100, then Moanalua High School in third place, taking home $50.
“It was a welcome surprise,” said Connor Malinger, a senior and the editor in chief of the Eagle Eye.
Students spent their after-school hours working on contributions to the Eagle Eye, and it was a relief to see it all pay off, Malinger said.
Malinger also took first place in the best column/review writing and best photo essay categories. He hopes to continue writing for the school newspaper in college, although he doesn’t plan on majoring in journalism in the future.
Malinger’s faculty adviser, Eunice Sim, later said that Malinger plans to attend Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and study integrated business and engineering.
Justin Mayeshiro, a senior and the photographer/videographer for the Eagle Eye, was voted most valuable staffer at the publication. He also won the best video and best action photo awards.
“A lot of people would like to know that their work means something to other people,” Mayeshiro said. “So I think that awards given out really help to recognize people that worked hard on their projects and deserve the affirmation.”
Winning Best in State is always welcome, especially considering the number of quality high school newspapers in Hawaii, Sim said.
At the beginning of Thursday’s awards ceremony, student speaker Shane Kaneshiro from McKinley High School spoke about a bill in the Legislature that the McKinley journalism program has been following. House Bill 1848 would prohibit school administrators from censoring students’ reporting. It would also provide legal immunity for state agencies and employees for students’ exercise of press freedoms.
Kaneshiro and the rest of the McKinley journalism students submitted written and verbal testimony supporting HB 1848, and Kaneshiro encouraged other students and advisers to support the bill as well.
Hawaii Baptist Academy, Mid-Pacific Institute and Sacred Hearts Academy were all recognized in each of the division categories, including writing, photo, design and online. The first-place winners in each category were awarded $200.
Sim appreciates that her students sometimes struggle but admires their persistence.
“The most enjoyable part of the job is to be able to see my students grow and also discover what they’re good at, or work on getting better at what they think they like,” Sim said.
State winners
1. Hawaii Baptist Academy
2. Sacred Hearts Academy
3. Moanalua High School
4. Mid-Pacific Institute
5. Mililani High School
Category winners
>> Poster Contest: Dillon Balantac, Mid-Pacific Institute
>> News: Shane Kaneshiro, McKinley High School
>> Feature writing: Siena Usui and Danika Kusumoto, Mid-Pacific Institute
>> Profile writing: Carlee Marcello, Sacred Hearts Academy
>> Column/review writing: Connor Malinger, Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Sports writing: Isabella Savea, Sacred Hearts Academy
>> Photo essay: Connor Malinger, Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Action/candid photo: Justin Mayeshiro, Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Portrait photo: Brynn Vincent, Mililani High School
>> Layout/design: Joni Ruan, Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Illustration: Mei Wai Lee, Sacred Hearts Academy
>> Infographic: Lily Washburn, Kalani High School
>> Editorial cartoon: Archer Liang, Mid-Pacific Institute
>> Comic strip: Alyssa Kimura, ‘Iolani School
>> Single issue: Clare Sullivan, Mililani High School
>> Video: Justin Mayeshiro and Samantha Sebastian, Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Multimedia story: Hawaii Baptist Academy
>> Blog: Daria Stapolsky, Moanalua High School
>> Website: Moanalua High School
>> Social media: Moanalua High School
Writing Division winners
1. Hawaii Baptist Academy
2. Sacred Hearts Academy
3. McKinley High School
4. Mid-Pacific Institute
5. Waipahu High School
Photo Division winners
1. Hawaii Baptist Academy
2. Mid-Pacific Institute
3. Sacred Hearts Academy
4. Mililani High School
5. ‘Iolani School
Design Division winners
1. Sacred Hearts Academy
2. Mid-Pacific Institute
3. Hawaii Baptist Academy
4. Kalani High School
5. ‘Iolani School
Online Division winners
1. Moanalua High School
2. Hawaii Baptist Academy
3. Sacred Hearts Academy
4. McKinley High School
4. Mid-Pacific Institute
5. ‘Iolani School
Most Valuable Staffers
>> Hawaii Baptist Academy: Justin Mayeshiro, photographer/videographer
>> ‘Iolani School: Skye Bulman, print content editor
>> Kalani High School: Lauren Vierra, senior editor
>> Kamehameha Schools- Kapalama: Holly Ikeda, editor in chief
>> McKinley High School: Shane Kaneshiro, reporter
>> Mid-Pacific Institute: Charlize Gaudiello, opinions editor
>> Mililani High School: Shelby Seu, reporter
>> Moanalua High School: Kendelle Hung-Ino, editor in chief
>> Sacred Hearts Academy: Ella blu Pakele, senior staff reporter
>> Waiakea High School: Trinity Pacheco, managing editor
>> Waipahu High School: Kila Brown, editor in chief
