Eleven Mountlake Terrace High School journalism students took home individual awards from the Journalism Education Association/National Student Press Association (JEA/NSPA) national journalism convention in Seattle last weekend.

Nearly 3,900 students, educators and media professionals from all 38 states and five countries descended on the Emerald City for a weekend of journalism.

Part of the conference includes the national high school journalism contests, where students compete against tough national standards and are judged by current media professionals, retired journalism educators and other industry experts. A total of 873 students participated in these on-site contests.

The awards earned by the MTHS students ranged from Honorable Mention to Excellent to Superior. Two of the honorees also do part-time work for the My Neighborhood News Network: Sports photographer David Cardwell and social media intern Terina Papatu.

The MTHS winners are:

David Cardwell – Superior in Sports Action Photography

Charli Gilchrist – Excellent in Yearbook Cover/Endsheets

Halle Connell – Excellent in Newsmagazine Layout

Lucas Barquin – Excellent in Literary Magazine Illustration

Evan Kerani – Excellent in Online News Package

Efrata Solomon – Excellent in Online News Package

Terina Papatu – Excellent in Online News Package

Adrian Knowlton – Honorable Mention in Literary Magazine Photography

Liz Herrmann – Honorable Mention in Editorial Writing

Quin Gilchrist – Honorable Mention in General/Spot News Photography

Curtis Gilchrist – Honorable Mention in Graphic Design: Infographics

In addition to these awards, two students placed in on-site NSPA Best of Show individual competitions: David Cardwell took second place in the nation for Sports Photography and Efrata Solomon earned fourth place in the nation for Feature Photography

As a team, the print Hawkeye newspaper placed in the highly competitive NSPA Best of Show contest, taking sixth place nationally for schools with fewer than 1,800 students.

In addition, for the 15th time and the 12th year in a row, the MTHS learning community was awarded the First Amendment Press Freedom Award. Present to accept the award were Edmonds School Board Director Carin Chase, District Superintendent Rebecca Miner, Assistant Superintendent Greg Schwab, MTHS psychologist Julie Schwab, along with representatives from the MTHS, Hawk Student Media and Music Boosters, My Neighborhood News Network President and CEO Teresa Wippel, and student media leaders.

“While it seems that this award is for the student media, it is actually for the community in which the student media operates free from prior review and other restrictions,” said MTHS journalism instructor and Hawkeye advisor Vince DeMiero. “I couldn’t be more proud!”