ALTON - Two Alton High School students qualified for the IHSA state journalism competition at Eastern Illinois University.
Jordan Graham, the journalism advisor at Alton High, said it’s been several years since the Redbird Word staff was able to sent an entire team to the IHSA journalism competition. While multiple students on the yearbook staff have been able to attend the competition individually, this year is the first that an entire team has been able to perform.
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“We did well individual but we never did well on the team part,” Graham said. “This year we actually placed fourth at sectionals and two of our students qualified for state. This being a year that we’re rebuilding the journalism program as well as sending students to state, it’s already more successful than the program has been in a while. I’m very proud of them as students and I think they exceeded their own expectations.”
Jacob Gordon, a senior at Alton High, placed second in review writing, while Ashlyn Green, a junior, placed third in the broadcast news portion of sectionals, qualifying each of them for the upcoming state competition.
Green said as an athlete she’s had an interest in broadcast news for a while and after suffering an injury she started finding other hobbies which led to finding an interest in writing.
“I’m in the multi-media class with Mr. Bergin and when he brought the idea of me going to the journalism competition, I was all in for it,” Green said. “At first I didn’t really know what I was doing, this is my first year, but it turned out good. I want to be a news anchor, so that’s kind of my plans for the future. It’s definitely a big motivational push for me, qualifying for state.”
A passion for writing is something Gordon said he has always had so he’s excited to qualify for state and receive some recognition.
“I’m passionate about all forms of writing,” Gordon said. “I had some interest in the school paper, I read it anytime I could get my hands on it and thought it would be a great thing to be a part of. I’m glad that I pursued it. I take pride in my writing ability, so I’m glad I found an outlet to actually pursue that rather than just enjoying writing on the side.”
To see some of Green's, Gordon's and the entire Redbird Word staff's work visit www.ahsredbirdword.com for the current and previous issues of the Redbird Word.
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