Mountlake Terrace High School junior and Hawkye student newspaper co-editor Terina Papatu was recently selected to represent the state of Washington at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Conference

The annual Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference for high school juniors is sponsored by the Freedom Forum, which has as its mission to foster First Amendment freedoms for all.

“This is – unbelievably – a twelve-peat for the Hawkeye,” said MTHS journalism instructor and Hawkeye advisor Vince DeMiero. Twelve of the 24 Washington state recipients have come from MTHS since the inception of the Free Spirit conference, he said.

“We are so fortunate that MTHS once again will have a representative chosen for the program,” DeMiero said.Papatu will join other selected students in Washington, D.C. June 22-27 for an all-expenses-paid week of activities, including panels with top journalists and visits to the U.S. Capitol and other landmarks. She will also receive a $1,000 scholarship to the college of her choice.

The program was established in 1999 to honor Al Neuharth, founder of The Freedom Forum and USA TODAY. The conference is designed to inspire and encourage students to pursue journalism. Today there are more than 1,500 “Free Spirits” including journalists working for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, ESPN and network-affiliated TV stations.

“I couldn’t be more proud of Terina and all she has done in our journalism program,” DeMiero said. “She’s an incredible young woman and will be a wonderful ambassador from our school.”