McCallum wins 2019 Staff Excellence Blue and Gold Award
McCallum High School of Austin, Texas has won the 2019 Blue and Gold Award for Staff Excellence in the 2019 Quill and Scroll International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest.
Students from five countries submitted 2,486 entries over all 30 categories, and judges chose 268 winning entries produced by 319 students, or National Winners. Every winning entry earns a Quill and Scroll Gold Key.
Quill and Scroll honors Sweepstakes Winners (First Place) in every category with a special framed certificate. All National Winners (Sweepstakes, Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mention) receive award letters and are eligible to apply for Quill and Scroll Scholarships, which have an application deadline of May 10. Certificates and letters will be mailed to schools before April 5. If you see any errors in the names below, please contact Quill and Scroll ASAP by emailing Judy Hauge at [email protected].
Schools with the most winning entries receive Blue and Gold Awards for Writing, Visual and Overall Excellence. Here are those winning schools:
Staff Excellence
- McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Visual Excellence
- McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
- Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
- Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa (Tie)
- Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana (Tie)
Writing Excellence
- McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
- St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
- Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas
If you would like a slideshow of the winning entries, with links to and visual representations of the top three entries in all 30 categories, please email Judy Hauge at [email protected].
Below find the top three entries in each category, and below that find all 178 Honorable Mention entries organized alphabetically by the name of the school.
Individual Winners
Category 1: Editorial Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Eva Strelitz-Block, Liberal Arts and Science Academy, Austin, Texas
Second Place: Kristen Tibbetts, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Third Place: Southwest Shadow Editorial Board, Southwest Career and Technical Academy, Las Vegas, Nevada
Category 2: News Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Nikki Aqui, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, Kansas
Second Place: Molly Litvak, Shalhevet School, Los Angeles, California
Third Place: Laura Ciccarelli, Wando High School, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Category 3: Feature Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Jonathan Malski, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
Second Place: Morgan Carpenter, Wando High School, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Third Place: Fatima Kammona, Iowa City West High School, Iowa City, Iowa
Category 4: Opinion Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Rachel Cohen, Pascack Valley High School, Hillsdale, New Jersey
Second Place: Emma Baumgardner, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Third Place: Saba Nia, Harvard-Westlake School, Studio City, California
Category 5: Review Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Eju Ro, Seoul International School, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Second Place: Hannah Adams, Troy High School, Fullerton, California
Third Place: Hugh Chan, Ladue Horton-Watkins High School, St. Louis, Missouri
Category 6: In-Depth: Individual Reporting
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Sophie Ryland, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Second Place: Abby Bammerlin, Lakota East High School, Liberty Township, Ohio
Third Place: Anna Cowden, Blue Valley Northwest High School, Overland Park, Kansas
Category 7: In-Depth: Team Reporting
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Sierra Fang-Horvath and Clara Kobashigawa, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California
Second Place: Deana Trautz, Jessica Mick, and Noah Torr, Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas
Third Place: Smoke Signal staff, Pascack Valley High School, Hillsdale, New Jersey
Category 8: Sports Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Gregory James, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Second Place: Stephen McKay, Lakota East High School, Liberty Township, Ohio
Third Place: Deana Trautz, Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas
Category 9: Profile Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Izzy Andrews, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place: Deana Trautz, Cedar Park High School, Cedar Park, Texas
Third Place: Kylah Woods, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Missouri
Category 10: Political Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Ryan Chang, Sophia Kontos, Fareen Dhuka, Abigail Poag, Bailey Maierson, Laney Chang, Alex Tinkham, Jack Shea, Thomas Hunt, Izzy Andrews, Lily McCullough, and Sophia Lima, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place: Will Tulp, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Third Place: Molly Litvak, Shalhevet School, Los Angeles, California
Category 11: Health, Science and Agriculture Writing
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Anushka Dasgupta, Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana
Second Place: Kathleen Ortiz, Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood, Texas
Third Place: Kennedy Rusicka and Allison Chown, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
Category 12: Blogging
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Carson Lilley, Fishers High School, Fishers, Indiana
Second Place: Sean Mullins, Webster Groves High School, Webster Groves, Missouri
Third Place: Max Rhodes, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Category 13: News Feature Photography
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Kate Wyman, Richland R-1 School, Essex, Missouri
Second Place: Caitlin Chung, Harvard-Westlake School, Studio City, California
Third Place: Claire Seinsheimer, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Category 14: Sports Action Photography
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Abbie Hoefer, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Missouri
Second Place: Liza King, Richland R-1 School, Essex, Missouri
Third Place: Yang Runjia, Shandong Experimental High School, China
Category 15: Sports Reaction Photography
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Kara Wagenknecht, Iowa City West High School, Iowa City, Iowa
Second Place: Luke Hoffman, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Third Place: Sophie Osborn, Chanute High School, Chanute, Kansas
Category 16: Photo Illustration
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Feng ZiLe, Guangdong Country Garden School, China
Second Place: Julie Robertson, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Third Place: Taylor Siebert, Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa
Category 17: Photo Slideshow
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Maeve Walsh, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Second Place: Sidney Sewell and Sidney Zabell, Granite Bay High, Granite Bay, California
Third Place: Pearl Heinley, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Category 18: Video News Package
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Ju Botao, The High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China, China
Second Place: Mara Moysen, Castro Valley High School, Castro Valley, California
Third Place: Max Harris, Harriton High School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Category 19: Video Sports Package
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Caitlin Babcock, Mattie Hansen, Lauren Hauser, Reagan Light, Kendra Streicher, Caroline Voss, and Catherine Yeoman, Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, Iowa
Second Place: Jackson Estwanick, Marquette High School, Chesterfield, Missouri
Third Place: Julia DiGregorio and Maddy Bream, Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach, California
Category 20: Video Features Package
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Tian Xinran, Beijing 21st Century International School, Beijing, China
Second Place: Gavin Milbourne and Samantha Barajas, Redlands East Valley High School, Redlands, California
Third Place: Madi Cranston, Rachel Axtell, Anna Nydegger, Mazie Rubner, and Lizzie Niehaus, Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, Iowa
Category 21: Audio Podcast: Series
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Sophia Kontos, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place: Maeve Taylor and Lindsey Bennett, Webster Groves High School, Webster Groves, Missouri
Third Place: Cole Sherman, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Missouri
Category 22: Audio Podcast: Single Episode
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Sophia Kontos, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Second Place: Ella West, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Third Place: Sophia Kontos, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Category 23: Editorial Cartoon
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Evie Horton, El Camino Real Charter High School, Woodland Hills, California
Second Place: Heeral Patel, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Missouri
Third Place: Ferren Thomas, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
Category 24: Advertisement
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Erin Kammer, Lewiston High School, Lewiston, Idaho
Second Place: Emma Myny, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
Third Place: Makenna Sloat, Eisenhower High School, Shelby Township, Michigan
Category 25: Informational Graphic
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Charlie Holden, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Second Place: Jackie Hur, Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana
Third Place: Heeral Patel, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Missouri
Category 26: News Mag Front Page Design
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Sami Turner and Anna Parnell, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, Kansas
Second Place: Taylor Siebert, Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa
Third Place: Flora Fang, International School of Dongguan, Dongguan, Guangdong
Category 27: Newspaper Front Page Design
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Alina Choi, Troy High School, Fullerton, California
Second Place: Kayva Jain, and Marta Mieze, Marquette High School, Chesterfield, Missouri
Third Place: Ian Ong, Conestoga High School, Berwyn, Pennsylvania
Category 28: Feature Page Design
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Angela Li, Carmel High School, Carmel, Indiana
Second Place: Taylor Siebert, Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa
Third Place: Maddy McCormick, Acalanes High School, Lafayette, California
Category 29: Sports Page Design
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Jackson Bry, Lady Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, Missouri
Second Place: Ben Hobbs, Blue Valley Northwest High School, Overland Park, Kansas
Third Place: Rita Wilkin, Wando High School, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Category 30: Editorial Page Design
SWEEPSTAKES WINNER
Lex Park, Troy High School, Fullerton, California
Second Place: Maddie Cooke, Tigard High School, Tigard, Oregon
Third Place: Ben Hobbs, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Honorable Mentions
| STUDENT | SCHOOL | CITY | STATE/ COUNTRY | CATEGORY | HEADLINE/TITLE |
| Christine Mitroff, Ethan Michon, | Acalanes High School | Lafayette | Georgia | News Magazine Front Page Design | Water Polo Cover |
| Christine Mitroff, Ethan Michon, | Acalanes High School | Lafayette | Georgia | News Magazine Front Page Design | Water Polo Cover |
| Lauren Fischer and Anna Levine | Blue Valley Northwest | Overland Park | Kansas | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | The mental health awakening |
| Ben Brown | Blue Valley Northwest High School | Overland Park | Kansas | Personal Opinion Column | Mental health in the sports world |
| Gavin Mullin | Blue Valley Northwest High School | Overland Park | Kansas | Personal Opinion Column | The journey to imperfection |
| Gabe Swartz | Blue Valley Northwest High School | Overland Park | Kansas | Sports Writing | From Ames to the Alamo: How Clayton Custer reunited with his best friend and brought Loyola Chicago to the Final Four |
| Jolie Barnhart | Blue Valley West | Overland Park | Kansas | News Feature Photography | Beautiful Light |
| Ellie Glander | Blue Valley West | Overland Park | Kansas | Sports Reaction Photography | Little Cheerleader |
| Madison Waltz | Bryant High School | Bryant | Arkansas | News Writing | Saving Salvadorans |
| Jessica Konrad | Carmel High School | Carmel | Indiana | Personal Opinion Column | Stop The Spam |
| Sarah Kim | Carmel High School | Carmel | Indiana | Sports Writing | Flipping Between Sports |
| Shruthi Ravichandran | Carmel High School | Carmel | Indiana | News Feature Photography | Princess Posture |
| Carson TerBush, Heidi Peng, Emily Dexter | Carmel High School | Carmel | Indiana | News Magazine Front Page Design | Out With The Old, In With The New |
| Raphael Li | Carmel High School | Carmel | Indiana | Feature Page(s) Design | The Right Fit |
| Deana Trautz | Cedar Park High School | Cedar Park | Texas | News Writing | Death Down the Hall |
| Deana Trautz | Cedar Park High School | Cedar Park | Texas | Feature Writing | Won’t Be Erased |
| Deana Trautz | Cedar Park High School | Cedar Park | Texas | In-Depth Reporting: Individual | Be the Brigade |
| Jiani Zhang | Chengdu Jiaxiang Foreign Languages School | Chengdu | China | Review Writing | Interstellar: Love is the one thing that transcends time and space. |
| Karissa Murray | Cherry Hill High School East | Cherry Hill | New Jersey | Feature Writing | Googly eyes watch over students in East’s hallways |
| Karissa Murray | Cherry Hill High School East | Cherry Hill | New Jersey | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | Youth mental illness vulnerability increases |
| Andrew Maier | Cherry Hill High School East | Cherry Hill | New Jersey | Sports Action Photography | Luis Cedeno (’20) dives in for the 100 meter backstroke at the 2018 Tri-County Swimming Championships at Brookside Swim Club. |
| Betty Ben Dor | Conestoga High School | Berwyn | Pennsylvania | Editorial Writing | The walkout that wasn’t |
| Avery Maslowsky | Conestoga High School | Berwyn | Pennsylvania | News Writing | Putting it in park |
| Justin Huang | Conestoga High School | Berwyn | Pennsylvania | Feature Writing | On the road again: Students march for progress in Philly |
| Emma Clarke | Conestoga High School | Berwyn | Pennsylvania | Sports Writing | Deathly shallows of the Schuylkill cramps crew’s cruisin’ |
| Tori Dierikx | Davenport West | Davenport | Iowa | Feature Writing | Who is Freddie the Falcon? |
| Hart Walker | East Mecklenburg High School | Charlotte | North Carolina | Feature Writing | Bilingual students |
| Ben McHenry | Fishers High School | Fishers | Indiana | Feature Writing | Vocational schools offer unique opportunities |
| Ben McHenry | Fishers High School | Fishers | Indiana | Review Writing | Battlefield V’ handles women in warfare with respect, accuracy |
| Sophia Jacobson | Francis Howell High School | St. Charles | Missouri | Feature Writing | Old Newsboys Day St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf |
| Sarah Zimmerman | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | News Writing | Two Years |
| Madison Abanathie | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | News Writing | Henderson Elementary Helps Students in Need With Bear Necessities |
| Sarah Zimmerman | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | Feature Writing | Peace, Prejudice and Positivity |
| Sammie Herr | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | Profile Writing | Learning Another Life |
| Francisco Jimenez | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | News Feature Photography | Student Portrait |
| Kamryn Bell | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | Video Feature Package | Humans of FHN | Taylor Hill |
| Heeral Patel | Francis Howell North High School | St. Charles | Missouri | Informational Graphic | Understanding the Facts |
| Nadine Cabo Chan | Glenbard North H.S. | Carol Stream | Illinois | Personal Opinion Column | Depression Does Not Discriminate |
| Jeromel Lara | Glenbard North High School | Carol Stream | Illinois | Feature Writing | Don’t Boo, Vote! |
| Spencer Cova | Granite Bay High | Granite Bay | California | News Writing | GBHS uses survey |
| Elliott Hyman | Granite Bay High | Granite Bay | California | News Writing | Administration seeks new discipline method |
| Spencer Cova | Granite Bay High | Granite Bay | California | In-Depth Reporting: Individual | Former RJUHSD teacher Doug Mason resigns |
| Akhil Shah | Granite Bay High | Granite Bay | California | Sports Writing | Athletes upset with unprompted retribution |
| Sidney Zabell | Granite Bay High | Granite Bay | California | News Feature Photography | Emergency airlift |
| Hannah Miller | Harrisonburg High School | Harrisonburg | Virginia | Feature Page(s) Design | Business Built on Love |
| Holly Bill | Harrisonburg High School | Harrisonburg | Virginia | Feature Page(s) Design | Soundcloud |
| Sam Catania | Harriton High School | Bryn Mawr | Pennsylvania | News Writing | Administration Directs Harriton Student Council to Change ‘Mr. Harriton’ to Gender Nonspecific Name |
| Saba Nia | Harvard-Westlake | Studio City | California | News Writing | When It Rains, It Pours: UTLA teachers go on strike against LAUSD |
| Tyler Jones | Henry W. Grady High School | Atlanta | Georgia | Feature Writing | Pianos for Peace |
| Maura O’Sullivan | Henry W. Grady High School | Atlanta | Georgia | Personal Opinion Column | Georgia should eliminate corporal punishment in schools |
| Becca Pirkle | Henry W. Grady High School | Atlanta | Georgia | Feature Page(s) Design | Pianos for Peace |
| Skylar Sharkey | Huntley HS | Huntley | Illinois | Feature Writing | Lauren Black Uses Leadership Skills |
| Ashley Reilly | Huntley HS | Huntley | Illinois | Feature Writing | Emilie Fasano uses art |
| Faith Losbanes | Huntley HS | Huntley | Illinois | Profile Writing | Principal Marcus Belin |
| Addy Smith | Iowa City High School | Iowa City | Iowa | Sports Writing | The Transfer Toss-up |
| Jack Bacon | Iowa City High School | Iowa City | Iowa | Sports Writing | Fighting for Family |
| Anjali Huynh | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | In-Depth Reporting: Individual | Hidden among us (p. 22-26) |
| Anjali Huynh & Will Conrad | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | In-Depth Reporting: Team | A spectrum of perspectives |
| Sophie Stephens | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | Sports Writing | Silent Tradition |
| Jessica Moonjely | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | Political Writing | Midterms matter |
| Natalie Dunlap | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | Unlikely exercise companions |
| Jessica Doyle & Harry Westergaard | Iowa City West | Iowa City | Iowa | Audio Podcast: Single Episode | West Side Radio: The Me Too movement’s impact on the U.S. Humanities curriculum |
| Obsee Abbajabal | Johnston HS | Johnston | Iowa | Feature Writing | Food on the Move |
| Taylor Siebert | Johnston HS | Johnston | Iowa | Feature Page(s) Design | Stem |
| Nick Farace | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | Feature Writing | Memories still vivid of devastation, fright |
| Kathleen Ortiz | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | Sports Writing | Obstacles Continue to Strengthen Brotherly Bond |
| Gabby Norman | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | Sports Writing | Painful foot disease doesn’t stop Park |
| Nick Farace | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | Perseverance, strength define Payne |
| Kathleen Ortiz | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | News Feature Photography | Goat nibbles at hair during yoga |
| Kathleen Ortiz | Kingwood Park HS | Kingwood | Texas | Sports Action Photography | Crosslin Silcott’s backstroke |
| Adam Rush | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Feature Writing | Enlisted: Gu joins armed forces |
| Adam Rush | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Feature Writing | Queen of Kings |
| Adam Rush | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Personal Opinion Column | A not so free press |
| Adam Rush | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Review Writing | Playstation’s Spider-man lets you be the hero |
| Davina Lettau | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Sports Writing | McNeill muscles up |
| Felix Hu | Ladue Horton Watkins High School | St. Louis | Missouri | Feature Page(s) Design | Playstation’s Spider-man lets you be the hero |
| Isis Summerlin | Lakota East HS | Liberty Township | Ohio | Feature Writing | Bangkok Rock |
| Michael Szczepkowski | Lakota East HS | Liberty Township | Ohio | Personal Opinion Column | Head to Head: Is Tech Going too Far in the Class |
| Landon Meador, Katey Kruback, Abby Bammerlin, Rebecca Breland, Broc Nordmark, Joe Phelan, Amy Bohorfoush | Lakota East HS | Liberty Township | Ohio | In-Depth Reporting: Team | The Movement: Part II |
| McKenna Lewis | Lakota East HS | Liberty Township | Ohio | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | ORGANization |
| Abby Bammerlin | Lakota East HS | Liberty Township | Ohio | Sports Action Photography | A FOUR-tunate Change |
| Nadia Sanburn | Lawrence High School | Lawrence | Kansas | News Writing | All gender restroom being used for skipping class |
| Megan Drumm | Lawrence High School | Lawrence | Kansas | Sports Action Photography | Victory edges Lions closer to state semifinals |
| Sami Turner | Lawrence High School | Lawrence | Kansas | Feature Page(s) Design | Adventure Time |
| Sydney Tucker | Leesville Road High School | Raleigh | North Carolina | Feature Writing | Students Experience Personal Growth Throughout Calculus |
| Ashley Tysiac | Leesville Road High School | Raleigh | North Carolina | Sports Writing | How Sir Walter Miler Became The Track Meet You Can’t Miss |
| Annabelle Ady | Lewiston High School | Lewiston | Idaho | Personal Opinion Column | Student’s Choice to Walk-up or Walk-out |
| Josie Hafer | Lewiston High School | Lewiston | Idaho | Personal Opinion Column | Results of Kavanaugh trial spark worldwide outrage |
| Mikey Vidovich | Lewiston High School | Lewiston | Idaho | Review Writing | Halloween continues to scare 40 years later |
| Davis Parks | Maine West High School | Des Plaines | Illinois | News Writing | Burial of the Warrior |
| Amaan Siddiqui | Maine West High School | Des Plaines | Illinois | Sports Writing | Mind Games |
| Shantel Jangula | Mandan High School | Mandan | North Dakota | Feature Page(s) Design | Class of 2018 Destinations |
| Savanna Hagerott | Mandan High School | Mandan | North Dakota | Feature Page(s) Design | Thanks, Teach |
| Meredith Comas | Manhattan High School | Manhattan | Kansas | Editorial Writing | Kobach’s plan to decrease school administration not solution to budget crisis |
| Marta Mieze | Marquette High School | Chesterfield | Missouri | Editorial Writing | Switching Classes at Semester |
| Mansi Mamidi | Marquette High School | Chesterfield | Missouri | Feature Writing | Students volunteer with ESOL children at Wildhorse |
| Jessica Li | Marquette High School | Chesterfield | Missouri | Sports Page(s) Design | Take a Hike |
| Shon Sayfuddinov | Marquette High School, Chesterfield | Chesterfield | Missouri | Video Feature Package | MHSNews | Who is Ms. Monique? |
| Kelsey Tasch | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | News Writing | Stretched too thin |
| Sophie Ryland | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Personal Opinion Column | ‘We regret to inform you…’ |
| Julie Robertson | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Sports Writing | Taylor takes Pflugerville job, calling it ‘a leap of faith’ |
| Bella Russo | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Profile Writing | The adventures continue for Zulmy Galindo |
| Lucy Marco | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Profile Writing | Mr. Whiz to retire after 49 years of teaching |
| Janssen Transier | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Profile Writing | Lifeguarding legend has Mac roots |
| Gregory James | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Political Writing | For these three Knights, cost of government shutdown hits close to home |
| Emma Baumgardner | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Political Writing | The struggle to legislate gun safety |
| Madison Olsen | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | News Feature Photography | They’ve had enough |
| Madison Olsen | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | News Feature Photography | Molly Gardner walks out with her peers |
| Madison Olsen | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | News Feature Photography | MSD High senior Jack Haimowitz at #marchforourlives at Texas Capitol |
| Caleb Melville | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Sports Reaction Photography | Coach G got a Gatorade shower |
| Charlie Holden | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Photo Illustration | “We regret to inform you,” |
| Maddie Doran and Julie Robertson | McCallum High School | Austin | Texas | Informational Graphic | Parting remarks |
| Landry Raymond | McKinney High School | McKinney | Texas | News Feature Photography | Finally |
| Mariana Ramirez | McKinney High School | McKinney | Texas | News Feature Photography | Lionpalooza |
| Mariana Ramirez | McKinney High School | McKinney | Texas | Sports Reaction Photography | Finally |
| Beck Westrem | Minnehaha Academy | Mendota Heights | Minnesota | News Writing | Home by curfew? Good luck |
| Emma Melling | Minnehaha Academy | Mendota Heights | Minnesota | Photo Illustration | Pole-vault sequence |
| Tolou Shams and Camille Murray | Mira Costa High School | Manhattan Beach | California | Video News Package | Wearable Tech |
| Maya Hernandez and Tamar Fox | Mira Costa High School | Manhattan Beach | California | Video Sports Package | New Field |
| Andrew Rowan | Moorestown Friends School | Moorestown | New Jersey | News Writing | New Cell Phone Pockets & Procedures Hit Some Upper School Classrooms with Backlash from Students |
| Andrew Rowan | Moorestown Friends School | Moorestown | New Jersey | Feature Writing | You’ve Got Mail: Despite Email, University Mailroom Is as Busy as Every |
| Kailey Cota | Nation Ford High School | Fort Mill | South Carolina | Editorial Writing | NFHS Should Be More Specific In Listing Fees |
| Kayla Barry | Pascack Valley High School | Hillsdale | New Jersey | News Writing | Florida shooting affects local community |
| Katie Mullaney | Pascack Valley High School | Hillsdale | New Jersey | Feature Writing | The Road Unknown |
| Christian Morrison | Redlands East Valley High School | Redlands | California | Personal Opinion Column | Thinking deeply: The purpose behind the electoral college |
| Emily Blunt | Richland R-1 School | Essex | Missouri | Sports Action Photography | Tanner For Two |
| Liza King | Richland R-1 School | Essex | Missouri | Sports Action Photography | Bringin’ The Heat |
| Isabella Eslick | Rockwood Summit High School | Fenton | Missouri | News Writing | Victorious at the polls |
| Jack Goren & Isabella Eslick | Rockwood Summit High School | Fenton | Missouri | In-Depth Reporting: Team | Contamination |
| Seo Hyun Lee | Saint Paul Preparatory | Seoul | South Korea | Blogging | Emily Lee / Artworks |
| Joanne Yang | Seoul International School | Seoul | South Korea | Personal Opinion Column | Overcoming Racism: A Personal Battle I Fought |
| Chris Lee | Seoul International School | Gyeonggi-do | South Korea | Personal Opinion Column | Refugees wait for arms to open |
| Brian Ham | Seoul International School | Seoul | South Korea | Sports Writing | Harassed by Grass |
| Brian Ham | Seoul International School | Seoul | South Korea | Sports Writing | The King’s Latest Charity Project |
| Nomi Willis and Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks | Shalhevet High School | Los Angeles | California | Editorial Writing | We were strangers in the land of Egypt |
| Sam Rubanowitz | Shalhevet School | Los Angeles | California | News Writing | Faiths and viewpoints come together at Westwood vigil for Pittsburgh shooting victims |
| Clara Sandler | Shalhevet School | Los Angeles | California | Feature Writing | The Torah by heart: Students lain professionally in local shuls |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Fayetteville | Georgia | Sports Reaction Photography | Unsatisfied |
| Emily Fey | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Feature Writing | Stutious |
| Caroline Chisholm | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Feature Writing | From Lancer to Freelancer |
| Elizabeth Balliew | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Personal Opinion Column | Faltering Faith |
| Ben Henschel, Will Tulp, Jackie Cameron | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Profile Writing | 18 Under 18: East’s Most Influential Students |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | News Feature Photography | Crowning the King |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | News Feature Photography | Making Waves |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Sports Action Photography | Corner Kick |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Sports Action Photography | Tri – Kick |
| Lucy Morantz | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Sports Action Photography | The tip off |
| Luke Hoffman | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Sports Action Photography | Flying for a Layup |
| Caroline Chisholm | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Sports Reaction Photography | Nothing to do but Wait |
| Luke Hoffman | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Photo Illustration | Prescribed by Me |
| Annabelle Cook | Shawnee Mission East | Prairie Village | Kansas | Editorial Page(s) Design | Disney Reimagined |
| Eriyale Williams | Southwest Career and Technical Academy | Las Vegas | Nevada | Personal Opinion Column | Cocoa butter with cornrows |
| Drew Scheiner | St. Louis Priory School | St. Louis | Missouri | Review Writing | Alabama Story: Not Worth the Wait |
| Sophia Bender | Starr’s Mill High School | Fayetteville | Georgia | Review Writing | Fantastic Beasts’ franchise continues in spellbinding sequel |
| Shelby Foster | Starr’s Mill High School | Fayetteville | Georgia | Sports Reaction Photography | High-fiving players |
| Shelby Foster | Starr’s Mill High School | Fayetteville | Georgia | Sports Reaction Photography | Softball defeat |
| Caylee Cicero | Starr’s Mill High School | Fayetteville | Georgia | Photo Slideshow | Cheer team rallies to finish 3rd at GHSA State Championships |
| Mary Jane Gagliano | Starr’s Mill High School | Fayetteville | Georgia | Audio Podcast: Single Episode | Drama department prepares to take you ‘Back to the ’80s’ |
| Olivia Young | Tigard High School | Tigard | Oregon | News Writing | “TTSD talks school safety” |
| Allegra Wesson | Tigard High School | Tigard | Oregon | News Writing | “Ditching senior quotes makes students angry” |
| Jared Debban | Tigard High School | Tigard | Oregon | Sports Writing | “The fury rises from the field” |
| Amy Weng | Troy High School | Fullerton | California | Personal Opinion Column | Fake News—What is it and what are its impacts? |
| Jillian Warren | Troy High School | Fullerton | California | Review Writing | Keeping Up With Kanye |
| Mira Costello | University of Chicago Laboratory High School | Chicago | Illinois | Personal Opinion Column | It’s OK not to know how to help with an eating disorder |
| Julianna Prendergast | Villa Maria Academy | Malvern | Pennsylvania | Feature Writing | Page 5 – Students travel to Africa to help those in need |
| Mackenzi NierDuffy | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Personal Opinion Column | The lucky few: A close account of 9/11 |
| Sean Makepeace | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Review Writing | A new type of cinematic web-slinger |
| Sean Makepeace | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Sports Writing | Injured but resilient |
| Sadie Allen | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Sports Writing | Queen of the ring |
| Sadie Allen | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Sports Writing | Queen of the ring |
| Emily Davis | Wando High School | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Health, Science and Agricultural Writing | To vaccinate or not |
| Haley Havelock | Wando HS | Mount Pleasant | South Carolina | Feature Writing | The picture of strength |
| Alexis Padilla | West Covina High School | West Covina | California | Feature Page(s) Design | Fancy Flasks |
| Kayla Romero | West Covina High School | West Covina | California | Feature Page(s) Design | Loading Locks |
| Gabriel Valenzuela | West Covina High School | West Covina | California | Sports Page(s) Design | The Road to Recovery |
| Bartel Van Oostendorp | West Henderson High School | Charlotte | North Carolina | Sports Writing | Uncharted Waters |
| Anjali Huynh, Lucy Polyak, Ian Prescott | West High School | Iowa City | Iowa | Editorial Writing | Legalizing Hate |
| Mary Miller | Westwood HS | Austin | Texas | Review Writing | Voodoo Doughnuts: An Authentic Austin Experience |
KNIGHTS WIN! KNIGHTS WIN!
The McCallum High School (Austin, Texas) news staff celebrates its Blue and Gold Staff Excellence Award as well as its numerous Gold Keys from the 2018 Quill and Scroll Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest. Adviser David Winter (back left) exchanges high fives with a student, blocking another student from expressing his thrill of victory. (Photo courtesy David Winter)
The 2019 Quill and Scroll International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest is now CLOSED!
Thanks for entering, we had 2,202 entries from more than 100 schools this year. Our judges will get all the entries by Feb. 11, and results should be ready by mid-March. The 2019 competitions included 30 categories, including the 23 from the 2018 competition plus seven new categories, including more design, more video news and audio podcasting. See categories below.
Details for the Junior High/Middle School Contest will be available in March 2019
DETAILS
- Currently enrolled high school students, including Quill and Scroll members and non-members, are invited to enter the 2019 International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest.
- Award divisions include writing (features, opinion, sports) and photography published in newspapers, news magazines and online, blogging and other skill sets employed in contemporary scholastic journalism.
- Sweepstakes winners receive a framed certificate.
- Blue and Gold Award winning schools will receive a plaque.
- All individual winners receive a Quill and Scroll National Award Gold Key and, as seniors, they are eligible to apply for one of the scholarships offered by Quill and Scroll.
- Work appearing online or in print is acceptable. It should have been published between Feb. 1, 2018 and Feb. 1, 2019.
- The deadline for entries is Feb. 6, 2019.
Save time by entering the Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest and News Media Evaluation as a package. More information included in the School Registration Form.
2019 CONTEST RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS
(PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE STARTING)
- Deadline — Entries must be submitted online no later than Feb. 6, 2019.
- Forms — There are two forms to complete.
- On the left is the School Registration Form. Fill that out once. Make sure you know how many entries you will have before you complete it. You may also use it to register for the 2019 News Media Evaluation. Read about the NME at this link.
- On the right is the Student Entry Form. This is for each individual entry. There is no limit on the number of entries per school, but the form takes only 20 entries per session. If you have between 21 and 40 entries, you will complete the form twice. If you have between 41 and 60 entries, three times, and so on. Once you have completed the final entry or the 20th entry per session — whichever comes first — be sure to hit “NO” and then wait for a “SUBMIT” button to appear. If you do not hit “SUBMIT” for each session, your entries will not populate our database.
- Entry fee — There is a $5 fee per entry. Entries not accompanied by the school entry form and entry fee will be disqualified.
- Publication — Each entry must have been published in a high school or professional newspaper, news magazine or online between Feb. 1, 2018 and Feb. 1, 2019 and must be the work of a high school student enrolled at the time of publication. Each writing entry must be the work of one student only, except in the Editorial Writing and In-Depth Reporting/Team categories.
- Number of entries — There is no limit on entries to a category per school. However, a single student can enter up to four entries into each category.
- Uploading entries — All entries must be submitted electronically via a shareable link. Make sure that you choose the proper category for your entry. Judges are instructed to disqualify entries that don’t fit into the category they are judging.
- In order to submit online stories or photos (or stories that ran both in print and online), simply paste the link to the online story into the proper line on the 2019 Entry Form. OR
- To submit stories or photos from print publications, you must upload all files to a storage system (Box.com, dropbox.com, Google Drive, etc.) that will generate a shareable URL that you can enter into the 2019 Entry Form on the Quill and Scroll website (quillandscroll.com). Here’s an example of a shareable link from Google Drive: (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M6oFtFzJL1G1177kklWESP_uevigdfvMjsWJaqRa_5yPFnQGgED8ft53f19VXpICdTu6wB6g76AVeZV1/view) Simply click the link icon next to “Get shareable link.” Copy the link and paste it into the entry form. Make sure the link is public so that our judges can view it.
- Entries improperly identified will be disqualified.
- Submission, Writing Categories — If the story ran in print only, submit the shareable link to the complete page on which the entry appears. Clearly identify the entry to be judged by typing the headline into the proper line on the 2019 Entry Form. If the story ran online, paste the link to the online story into the 2019 Entry Form.
- Submission, Photo Categories — If the photo ran in a print publication only, submit a shareable link of the complete page it ran on and identify the photo by giving it a title that corresponds to keywords in the cutline/caption. You may also provide a shareable link to a complete version of the photo itself to make easier the judge’s job of identifying the proper photo on a page and to eliminate any problems in the printing process that may have nothing to do with the quality of the photo.
- Submission, Multimedia Categories — Simply provide us a link to the online video, podcast, photo slideshow or other digital media entry. It may also be a link to a cloud storage system URL.
- Submission, Design Categories — Upload the page design to your cloud storage and copy the shareable link into the 2019 Entry Form.
- Winners — All winning entries are automatically eligible for the 2019 Quill and Scroll Journalism Sweepstakes awards. Only winners will be notified.
- Rights — Your entries become the property of Quill and Scroll Society. We reserve the right to use entries in QUILL & SCROLL magazine and in other media.
CATEGORIES
WRITING
- Editorial Writing
- News Writing
- Feature Writing
- Opinion Column
- Review Column
- In-Depth — Individual Reporting
- In-Depth — Team Reporting
- Sports Writing
- Profile Writing
- Political Writing
- Health, Science and Agricultural Writing
- Blogging
PHOTO
13. News Feature Photo
14. Sports Action Photo
15. Sports Reaction Photo
16. Photo Illustration
MULTIMEDIA
17. Photo Slideshow
18. Video News Package
19. Video Sports Package
20. Video Features Package
21. Audio Podcast: Series
22. Audio Podcast: Single Episode
DESIGN
23. Editorial Cartoon
24. Advertisement
25. Informational Graphic
26. News Magazine Front Page Design
27. Newspaper Front Page Design
28. Feature Page Design
29. Sports Page Design
30. Editorial Page Design
2018 winners are now online!
And here’s a slideshow of the 2018 winners so you can see what the judges awarded. The slideshow includes links to all the written pieces, as well as complete views of the visual winners.
GOLD KEYS and the opportunity to apply for college journalism scholarships were awarded to 321 writers, photographers and designers in the 2018 Quill and Scroll Writing, Photography and Multimedia Contest.
Of the 2,065 entries received by Quill and Scroll, judges recognized 259 across 23 categories as winners. Students were recognized as Sweepstakes Winners (first place), Second Place, Third Place and Honorable Mention.
Sweepstakes winners (except in the In-Depth Team category where each student will receive a special certificate) receive a plaque. All individual winners receive a Gold Key.
Gold Key winners are eligible as seniors to apply for one of the Edward J. Nell or George and Ophelia Gallup Memorial journalism scholarships. Read about them and apply here.
If you would like a slideshow of the winners, with links to all the writing entries as well as full visual representation of the visual entries, please email Executive Director Jeff Browne.
