WEST HIGH JOURNALISTS HEADED FOR STATE COMPETITION

Three yearbook staff members from West Aurora High School have qualified for the IHSA Journalism state competition April 28 at Eastern Illinois University.

Competing against 12 other schools in the regional division at Hoffman Estates on April 21, Jessica Lobdell won first place in feature writing; Ariel Johnson won second in theme development, and Orion Deligiannis won third in photography.

The West students competed in different categories in the yearbook division. In the feature category, Lobdell was given reporter's notes on a specific subject and had to write the feature article in Associated Press style.

For theme development, Johnson was given the prompt "Fortune" and had to design a cover, a theme page and connections to divisional pages (sports, people, events).

For photography, Deligiannis was given the prompt "Spring" and had to take pictures around the school that captured the subject.

“This is the first year that the state has held this competition, so we did not know what to expect,” says Kim Dirck, yearbook advisor and English teacher. “The students just relied on what they know to do for our yearbook to win. I am so proud of them all.”

West Aurora High School yearbook staffers Orion Deligiannis, Jessica Lobdell and Ariel Johnson have advanced to state-level competition in the Illinois High School Association’s first-ever journalism competition.