SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The Lincoln High School Statesman is a school newspaper that has long been one of the premier student publications in our area.
This is the third year The Statesman will be traveling to New York City to accept an award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. For the past two years, The Statesman has won the silver crown award, and this year, they hope to win the gold crown award, the highest achievement.
“It makes me feel really good because I think it just shows how special Lincoln is as a school because, you know, we’re doing things on the national level that most South Dakota schools aren’t doing,” said Mason Dean, Senior Photography Editor.
They will also be attending a convention that offers dozens of sessions and workshops, and even get a chance to sit in on the Today Show. However, the students all say the best part of the trip is the chance to continue to improve their skills in journalism and make memories with each other.
“I think I’m just really excited to go back to some of the spots that we saw last year, go back with a new group of kids,” said Naomi Jespersen, Senior Paper Editor-in-Chief. “We’ll kind of teach our younger members, like, hey, this is the convention. This is how you can make the most of your time here. And the progress that we’ve made in one year since we’ve been there has been incredible.”
Last year, The Statesman was only one of two public schools in the nation to be recognized for their work.
“High school journalism should be taken seriously because, obviously, our climate right now with everything going on in the news, we need good people that are truthful and honest, that can tell stories and tell us what’s happening in the world,“ said Katie Kroeze, Lincoln journalism teacher and Statesman advisor. ”They are talking to people. They are fact-checking. They’re researching. And so these skills are just so helpful for them as they move forward to whatever school or career that they have.”
“I think the beauty of journalism is that you get to push yourself out of the boundary,” said Chris Tao, Senior Online Editor-in-Chief. “You get to be uncomfortable, and you do stories that are out in the community, or you’re kind of unfamiliar with.”
Many of the seniors are figuring out their college plans, but they still want to keep journalism in their lives somehow, whether that’s joining their college paper or just listening to the news each day.
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