CY CREEK JOURNALISTS CLAIM 14 AWARDS AT TAJE FALL FIESTA

Cypress Creek High School student journalists brought home 18 awards from the Texas Association of Journalism Educators (TAJE) Fall Fiesta, Oct. 15-17 in San Antonio.

Bringing home 14 awards, 18 students from the Cypress Creek High School journalism department attended the Texas Association of Journalism Educators (TAJE) annual Fall Fiesta convention held in San Antonio Oct. 15-17.

Students competed in writing, design and photography competitions. Awards were given in three categories: Superior, Excellent and Honorable Mention. More than 900 students and teachers attended the convention—the most the organization has seen in 10 years.

Cypress Creek High School sophomore Caitlin Campbell’s photograph won a Superior award in the On-Site Photo – “Green” category at the TAJE Fall Fiesta. (Photo by Caitlin Campbell, Cypress Creek HS)

For sophomore Caitlin Campbell, a first-year staffer, this was her first convention and contest as part of the program. Campbell received three awards for her photos—two Superiors, the highest rating a student can achieve, and an Honorable Mention.

“For me, winning was crazy,” Campbell said, “especially since it was more than once. I was super nervous and didn’t expect to win anything.”

Jordan DeNike, co-editor-in-chief for the yearbook, competed in the On-Site Photo competition and received an honorable mention for her photo in the “Green” category. A third-year staffer, DeNike said contests like TAJE are a “stepping stone of learning for young journalists.”

Cypress Creek sophomore Caitlin Campbell’s photograph won a Superior award in the On-Site Photo – “Circles” category at the TAJE Fall Fiesta. (Photo by Caitlin Campbell, Cypress Creek HS)

“I’m so grateful I got to go for this experience,” DeNike, a senior, said. “By allowing photographers the chance to test their skills in the real world by walking around San Antonio with their peers, it becomes apparent what real photojournalism is.”

Winning an Excellent rating for Review Writing, senior Libby Sullivan said conventions like TAJE provide personal and professional skills.

“Going to TAJE helped me not only grow as an editor, but as a person,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, who is also the editor-in-chief of the print and online newspaper, said this is her eighth journalism trip to attend and said winning serves as affirmation for her hard work.

“Winning was so exciting,” she said. “It was like someone patting me on the back and saying, ‘you’re doing a great job.’ It was a great end to a really fun weekend.”

The complete list of Cypress Creek award winners is as follows:

Superior

• Lydia Estepp, Editorial Illustration;
• Grace Grantham and Abby Akard, Yearbook Theme Package;
• Miranda Duncan, Editorial Writing; and
• Caitlin Campbell (2), On-Site Photo – “Green” category and On-Site Photo – “Circles” category.

Excellent

• Libby Sullivan, Review Writing.

Honorable Mention

• Chloe Crawford, Sports Writing;
• Caitlin Campbell, On-Site Photo – “Light & Shadow” category;
• Alexis Garrison, Feature Writing;
• Jordan DeNike, On-Site Photo – “Green” category;
• Hannah Felske (2), On-Site Photo – “Circles” category and On-Site Photo – “Unique Framing” category; and
• Fredy Erives, On-Site Photo – “Unique Framing” category.

Miscellaneous

• Sophia Lezama, Paloma de la Riva and Oli Kearney, third place Scavenger Hunt team.