Both North High School and South High School in Downers Grove earned top honors at the 2018 Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association (NISPA) Conference in April 2018.
North High received two Golden Eagle awards, which is NISPA’s highest honor. North High’s Omega newspaper won a Silver Certificate for its online publication and a Gold Certificate for its print edition. Also, North High’s Cauldron Yearbook and Omega newspaper won Golden Eagle trophies.
For the first time in South High history, the Blueprint newspaper won a Golden Eagle and were named Sectional Champions.
“We’re so proud of the hard work and dedication of our Blueprint newspaper staff,” said South High English teacher and Journalism sponsor Mary Long. “Our students proudly earned the first-ever Golden Eagle trophy in South High history.”
“Congratulations to our Omega Newspaper and Cauldron Yearbook staff,” said North High English teacher and Journalism sponsor Elizabeth Levin. “It is wonderful to see our students earn such high honors and recognition for their hard work.”
At the conference, hundreds of high school journalists and their advisors from across the Chicago area met to share their experiences, improve their skills and recognize their accomplishments, and hear a keynote address from a professional journalist. NISPA is dedicated to preparing young people to live up to the highest ideals of the First Amendment.
Each spring students are encouraged to submit scholastic yearbook, web and print publications to compete against area high schools in journalistic writing, editing, photography and design. Top performers in four divisions are awarded the prestigious Golden Eagle.
Listed below are the staff and individual awards for North and South High:
![]()
South High Awards
South High AwardsFirst-time awards for South High Blueprint Newspaper:
Sectional Champions
Golden Eagle: NISPA’s highest honor
South High individual sectional awards:
Barbara Collins in News: 2nd place – state qualifier
Marc Alvarez in Editorial Writing: 1st place – state qualifier
Jonah Ocuto in Broadcast News: 3rd place – state qualifier
Jayna Bardahl in Sports Writing: 3rd place – state qualifier
Sydney Hall in Yearbook Caption Writing: 2nd place – state qualifier
Donte Reed in Yearbook Two-Page Spread: 2nd place – state qualifier
Rhaya Truman in Review Writing: 3rd place – state qualifier
Elizabeth Szpytek in Headline Writing: 1st place – state qualifier
Emmanuelle Copeland in Editorial Cartooning: 3rd place – state qualifier
Sydney Antiporek in Photo: 6th place
Andrea Davenport in Yearbook Copy Writing: 6th place
Srushti Desai in Inforgraphics: 6th place
Sherwin Thomas in Copy Editing: 4th place
South High Blue Ribbons:
Jayna Bardahl: Individual-In-Depth-Reporting
Sarah Major: Feature Writing
Elizabeth Szpytek: Blogging
Lindsay Valero: Photo Gallery
Emmanuelle Copeland: Editorial Cartooning
Emmanuelle Copeland: Graphics
Barbara Collins, Sarah Major, Katie Anthony, Sydney Hall: Breaking News
South High Honorable Mentions:
Jayna Bardahl, Elizabeth Szpytek, Rhaya Truman, Andrea Davenport: Team-In-Depth Reporting
Sarah Major: Sports Writing
Elizabeth Szpytek: Column Writing
Andrea Davenport: Editorial Writing
![]()
North High Awards
North High AwardsNorth High Individual Awards
Sophia Di Iorio in Editorial Cartooning: 1st place – state qualifier
Elise Radigan in Yearbook Caption Writing: 1st place – state qualifier
Zain Bando in Sports Writing: 2nd place – state qualifier
Sophia Di Iorio in Advertising: 2nd place – state qualifier
Sidney Lee in Newspaper Design: 2nd place
And Matt Troher in Feature Writing: 2nd place
Alyssa Alberti in Yearbook Layout: 4th place
Sidney Lee in Editorial Writing: 4th place
And Matt Troher in Review Writing: 4th place
Serena Jaimes Yearbook Theme Development: 5th place
Erin Radigan in Yearbook Theme Development: 5th place
Kyle Schirle in Headline Writing: 6th place
North High Cauldron Yearbook Awards
Golden Eagle: NISPA’s highest honor
Blue Ribbon in Copy and Writing
Honorable mention: Photography
Honorable mention: Layout and Design
North High Omega Newspaper Awards: State Competition
Golden Eagle: NISPA’s highest honor
Silver certificate for its online publication
Gold certificate for its print edition
North High Blue Ribbons:
Sarah Baran: News Writing
Matt Troher: News Writing
Sidney Lee: Editorial Writing
Matt Troher: Review Writing
Natalie White: Individual In-Depth and Sports Writing
North High Honorable Mentions:
Sophia Di Iorio: Graphics
Sarah Rogoz: Column Writing
Madison Venckus: Web Photo Gallery
Natalie White: Feature Writing