Pius X journalism and yearbook students attended the NSAA state journalism competition at Northeast Community College in Norfolk on Apr. 28.
The students had a grand total of 13 medals including four gold. The four state champions were senior Malina Odgaard, junior Brynn Hart and freshmen Inara McArthur and Sarah Volkmer.
“It was my first year of journalism, so I think it was pretty cool that I got to go,” Volkmer said. “I didn’t think that I was going to make it especially since I’m a freshman.”
A total of 10 students qualified to earn medals for their work over the past year.
“We took a lot of time trying to put this video together, with finding people to interview and getting clips of everything,” Volkmer said.
Volkmer and McArthur won gold for their Broadcast News Video about the new uniform company.
The competition started in the morning when two sessions occurred. Students, although nervous, pulled through in the end earning sixth place as a school.
“I was really nervous before my competition but afterwards I felt a lot better,” senior Malina Odgaard said. “I thought I was in the wrong event when they weren’t calling me, I was dumbfounded when I found out I got first.”
Odgaard won the championship in Sports News Writing.
Although as a team they wished to do better, they hope to qualify again to redeem themselves next year.
“I think that it is important to keep state journalism in mind while you are writing throughout the year,” Odgaard said. “It incentivized me to do well even when I didn’t want to, that’s what I think future people in journalism should remember.”
