Three student media departments combined to win 11 international awards when Youth Journalism International announced its awards for 2025 Saturday.
Spotlight newspaper won the enterprise team reporting award for a third straight year with its October 2024 issue titled “Decision 2024.”
“I really like winning this award because it is a team award for an issue our entire staff worked on together,” Spotlight adviser Tom Hayes said. “Awards are nice, but I really like when the entire staff is recognized for their work.”
Here is what the judges said about the election issue: A thoughtful and in-depth look at the many ways the election would impact young adults, as well as providing meaningful analysis and explainers to help educate their audiences and allow youth to make informed decisions in the 2024 election. Clearly a huge team effort, with creative layout and graphics as well. Bravo!
In addition to the enterprise team reporting award, Spotlight also earned a first place from junior JJ Darrough in photo illustration for her cover design of the September issue titled “Journey Through the Decades.” Senior Paola Chavez earned a first place award for Keyhole in feature photography for a picture from the 2024 prom. BDTV earned a first pace in multimedia news reporting for seniors Jonas Walker, Maddox Hinton and Marcus Turner for a story titled “No Rewinding.”
Here is what the judges said about the “No Rewinding”: The reporting team did a good job sensitively interviewing the mother of a student who died in gun violence and getting expert opinions, too.
Other awards went to 2024 graduate Yaretzy Lopez with a second place in profile writing, senior Jayla Bailey with a second place in sports feature writing, 2024 graduate Lynden Johnson with an honorable mention in graphics, the BDTV staff with an honorable mention in multimedia feature reporting, 2024 graduate Stephanie Phillips with a second place in feature photography and junior Faith Oluwamuyemi with an honorable mention in feature photography. Keyhole swept the feature photography category.
The Spotlight staff also won honorable mention in feature writing by a team for the “Journey Through the Decades” issue that highlighted the 60 years our current building has existed.
Youth Journalism International recognized award winners from 15 countries and 14 states in its 2025 awards.
To see a complete list of all award winners and judges comments, visit YJI Awards