2023 Awards of Excellence
July 7, 2023
The traditional Thursday-morning awards ceremony celebrated success at the conclusion of the workshop.
Instructors recognized the top students in each class. Video and photo shows highlighted outstanding storytelling, scholarship winners were announced, and the hardest-working schools were recognized.
2023 workshop slideshow,
featuring the work of students in our photo courses
Scholarships
Winners
Sherri Taylor Scholarship
Natasha Torkzaban, Lawrence High School
Jane Pak Scholarship
Lily Coash-Johnson, Shawnee Mission West High School
Jim Davidson Scholarship
Blake Hinerman, Mansfield Legacy High School
Finalists
Josh McNeil, Little Rock Central High School
Claire Schudy, Shawnee Mission East High School
Maya Smith, Lawrence High School
Hardest Working Schools
Bellaire High School
Little Rock Central High School
Shawnee Mission East High School
Class recognition
Instructors recognized the following outstanding students from 15 design, digital, newspaper and yearbook courses.
Design courses
Beginning Publication Design
All-Star Designer
Caroline Baker, Little Rock Central High School
Clara Breneman, Shawnee Mission East High School
Sydney Maddox, Bryant High School
Lucy Stephens, Shawnee Mission East High School
Advanced Publication Design
Outstanding Nameplate
Ayla Akin, Houston Memorial High School
Maggie Mae Donovan, Lamar High School
Isabella Garcia, Shawnee Mission North High School
Joshua Ghormley, Little Rock Central High School
Minori Kunte, Coppell High School
Evan Schotland, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Most Improved Designer
Georgia Gomez, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Outstanding Designer
Sophia Brockmeier, Shawnee Mission East High School
Mylinh Bui, Bellaire High School
Aiden Farrow, Memorial High School
Greta Grist, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Olivia Jimenea, Lamar High School
Cayla Reeves, Shawnee Mission East High School
Digital courses
Digital Graphics
Outstanding Design
Truth Dukes, Texas High School
Outstanding Design & Leadership
Chloe Birnbaum, Canyon High School
Outstanding Design & Hardest Working
Bridget Bendorf, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Outstanding Design & Awesome Spirit
Allie Maglares, Bellaire High School
Most Spirited
Samantha Barr, Shawnee Mission West High School
Outstanding Design Vision & Leadership
Bridget Connelly, Shawnee Mission East High School
Social Media Reporting
Best Story
Avery Anderson, Shawnee Mission East High School
Genesis Martinez-Porras, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Best Improvised Microphone
Ty Gery, Legacy High School
Addie McCord, Canyon High School
Most Creative Video
Paige Mandery, Stratford High School
Caroline Steranko, Stratford High School
Brian Telles, Rock Hill High School
Hustle Award
Elie Brunson, Stratford High School
Caroline Larrabee, Stratford High School
Sophie Sagastume, Stratford High School
Video
Feature video packages shared during the awards ceremony
McKinney Knittery
Kristina Colburn, Texas High School
Antique Company Mall
Preston Hooker, Shawnee Mission East High School
Mary’s Mountain Cookies
Taylor Mills, Klein Oak High School
Heart & Hustle Award
Jonas Lord, Lawrence High School
Best Videographer
Kristina Colburn, Texas High School
Epic Editor
Cate Yarrow, Houston Memorial High School
Superior Script Writer
Bailey Frazier, Carroll Senior High School
Best Storyteller
Preston Hooker, Shawnee Mission East High School
Best Storytelling Team
Kyla Crowell, Klein Oak High School
Bonte’ Grangue, Klein Oak High School
Taylor Mills, Klein Oak High School
Newspaper courses
Newspaper Boot Camp
UIL Feature Writing
First Place: Sabah Uddin, Coppell High School
Second Place: Chenyi Wu, Flower Mound High School
Third Place: Ishitha Yanamala, Coppell High School
Live Feature Challenge
First Place: Gray Hevle, Houston Memorial High School
Second Place: Elizabeth De Santiago, Coppell High School
Third Place: Ellen Hirst, Flower Mound High School
Top Reporter Effort: Aasritha Yanamala, Coppell High School
Individual/United Effort
Top Team
Flower Mound High School
Beginning Feature Writing
Outstanding Feature Writing
Lillian Hall, Loudoun Valley High School
Lucianna Mendy, Shawnee Mission East High School
Katherine O’Brien, Houston Memorial High School
Ruben Plascencia, Lewisville High School
Advanced Feature Writing
Determined Effort & Positivity
Ruth Kiija, McKinney High School
Outstanding Opinion Feature
Ainsley Dwyer, Coppell High School
Ren Park, Shawnee Mission South High School
Overall Superior Work
Taylor Graham, Marcus High School
Niko Russell, Austin McNeil High School
Kaylen Sanchez, Buffalo High School
Kaelen Sanchez, Marcus High School
Asia Williams, Houston Lamar High School
Attitude & Attention to Detail
Lamar High School, Houston, Texas
Specialized Writing
Groovitational Super-Funkadelic Writer
David Allegri, Shawnee Mission East High School
Isabel Baldassaro, Shawnee Mission East High School
MacKenzie Bunn, Loudoun Valley High School
Weston Benner, Bellaire High School
Ximena Castro Pinon, Walnut Grove High School
Abigail Fleeman, Walnut Grove High School
Ashley Freund, Shawnee Mission East High School
Arleth Guevara, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Delaney Haase, Lawrence High School
Margot Hawes, Shawnee Mission East High School
Jay Hillis, Mansfield Legacy High School
Amie (AJ) Jackson, Lewisville High School
Helen Jones, Shawnee Mission East High School
Katie Keating, Mansfield Legacy High School
Libby Marsh, Shawnee Mission East High School
Catherine McClees, Stratford High School
Addison Moore, Shawnee Mission East High School
Adriano Peralta, Shawnee Mission North High School
Alyssa Perera, McNeil High School
Thomas Schell, Memorial High School
Camilla Simmons, Shawnee Mission East High School
Jade Slaughter, Lewisville High School
Sarah Stein, Shawnee Mission East High School
Kati Waguespack, Mansfield Legacy High School
Sarah Wellman, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Macy Williams, Shawnee Mission North High School
Ada Lillie Worthington, Shawnee Mission East High School
Newspaper Editorial Leadership
Outstanding Editor
Aliza Abidi, Coppell High School
Jennifer Banh, Marcus High School
Aanya Bansal, Shawnee Mission East High School
Claire Boma, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Nandini Dasari, Flower Mound High School
Krista Fleming, Hebron High School
Rishi Hanumandlu, Marcus High School
Blake Hinerman, Mansfield Legacy High School
Zana Kennedy, Lawrence High School
Maggie Kissick, Shawnee Mission East High School
Kiernan Lamar, Boswell High School
Keaton Shaffer, Flower Mound High School
Natasha Torkzaban, Lawrence High School
Jack Tell, Lawrence High School
Lily Wilkin, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Photography courses
Beginning Photography
Outstanding Field Photography
Ethan Hanratanagorn, Lawrence High School
Ellie Moilanen, Shawnee Mission East High School
Poppy Root, Shawnee Mission East High School
Kaiden Wynn, Mansfield Legacy High School
Rookie of the Workshop
Lyric Curtis, Texas High School
Intermediate Photography
Top Overall Photographer
Sophia Beedle, Shawnee Mission East High School
Superior Sports Photography
Excellent Workshop Photography
Addison Wolf, Bellaire High School
Honorable Mention Sports Photography
Honorable Mention Photo Photography
Chloe Chang, Bellaire High School
Honorable Mention Photo Story
Taylor Marksz, Shawnee Mission West High School
Excellent Sports Photography
Excellent Workshop Photography
Excellent Photo Story
Anna Bell Lee, Texas High School
Excellent Photo Story
Honorable Mention Workshop Photography
Lydia Folks, Lawrence High School
Superior Photo Story
Excellent Workshop Photography
Stacy Shih, Bellaire High School
Excellent Sports Photography
Christopher Gee, Bellaire High School
Superior Workshop Photography
Excellent Sports Photography
Gia Tuso, Shawnee Mission East High School
Superior Sports Photography
Lily Haynes, Shawnee Mission West High School
Honorable Mention Sports Photography
Madi Russell, Shawnee Mission South High School
Honorable Mention Sports Photography
Honorable Mention Workshop Photography
Matthew Guzman, Bellaire High School
Excellent Sports Photography
Excellent Workshop Photography
Avery Tilley, Shawnee Mission East High School
Excellent Sports Photography
Miles McKinzy, Shawnee Mission South High School
Honorable Mention Workshop Photography
Adelina Purcarea, Frisco Heritage High School
Superior Workshop Photography
Maryfer Garcia, Chisholm High School
Most Awesome and Thorough Captions
Bellaire High School
Advanced Photography
Top Photo Story
Maison Flory, Lawrence High School
Will Griffith, Shawnee Mission East High School
Caroline Martucci, Shawnee Mission East High School
Chloe Sanders, Pleasant Grove High School
Kara Simpson, Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Maren Weinstein, Anderson High School
Jingyu Wu, Bellaire High School
Top Workshop Portfolio
Ryan Rexford, Bellaire High School
Yearbook course
Yearbook Boot Camp (Junior High/Middle School)
Growth Mindset
Evelyn Hixon, Dallas Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School
Captain Ninja
Wesley Bowen, Dallas Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy
Unsung Hero
Atziry Cabera, Dallas Trinity Heights Talented and Gifted
Macario Hernandez, Dallas Rosemont Upper School
Design Guru
Abigail Orozco, Dallas Rosemont Upper School
Marketing Guru
Regina Mejia, Dallas Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School
MVP and Future EIC
Valerie Martinez, Dallas Dade Middle School
Hardest Worker
Tatiana Langston, Dallas Dade Middle School
Photo Shoot Dynamic Duo
Magaly Hernandez, Dallas Dade Middle School
Lesli Lopez, Dallas Dade Middle School
Photographer Extraordinaire
Rylan Malphurs, Dallas Franklin International Exploratory Academy
Dynamic Duo
Samantha Dominguez, Dallas Franklin International Exploratory Academy
Rosealynn Romero, Dallas Franklin International Exploratory Academy
Team Player
Joseph Martinez, Dallas Franklin International Exploratory Academy
Design Flair
Ivy Martinez, Dallas Marsh Preparatory Academy
Queen of Kahoot!
Brianna Santos, Dallas Marsh Preparatory Academy
Consistent Effort
Luis Perez Majano, Dallas Marsh Preparatory Academy
Joyful Participation
Luis Cazares, Dallas Marsh Preparatory Academy
Yearbook Boot Camp (High School)
Design Planning
Front Row Team, Bellaire High School
Khloe King, Bryant High School
Photography
Jonathan Alvarez, Wichita Falls High School
Benjamin Rhodes, Wichita Falls High School
Miles Roberts, Wichita Falls High School
Ava Yoder, Wichita Falls High School
300-Word Storytelling
Kelly Davis, Flower Mound High School
Jenny Sun, Bellaire High School
Eliza Teo, Bellaire High School
Feature Storytelling
Simone Goffney, Bellaire High School
Rustin Golshan, Bellaire High School
Mohammed Khan, Bellaire High School
Claire Odom, Houston Memorial High School
Eliza Teo, Bellaire High School
Miranda Wang, Bellaire High School
Best in Class
Juan Avila, McKinney High School
Khloe King, Bryant High School
Maddie Leverage, Frisco High School
Emerson Raper, Frisco Heritage High School
Yearbook Design & Concepts
Outstanding Dynamic Duo
Dashiell Amburg, Richardson High School
Ray Brosnahan, Richardson High School
Sydney Buback, Denison High School
Savannah Collins, Denison High School
Outstanding Layouts
Dylan Wang, Bellaire High School
Outstanding Solo Staff Member
Emily Searles, Marcus High School
Kyan Torres, McNeil High School
Most Quiet but Mighty
Reagan Harris, McKinney High School
Dulce Nuñez, McKinney High School
Most In-Synch School
Round Rock High School
Most Dynamic Staff
Richardson High School
Yearbook Theme Development
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Cassandra Darmodjo, Bellaire High School
Lucy Vestal, Bellaire High School
Anjana Ranganatha, Bellaire High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Sydney Hawkins, Chisholm Trail High School
Natalie Salinas, Chisholm Trail High School
Kaylee White, Chisholm Trail High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Summer Lario, McKinney High School
Blanca Ramos, McKinney High School
Carter Reynolds, McKinney High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Ella Carter, McNeil High School
Luiza Deboni, McNeil High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Sophia Grantham, Notre Dame de Sion High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Laurel Hansen, Shawnee Mission North High School
Nicole Mendez, Shawnee Mission North High School
Outstanding Theme Presentation
Maggie Gerritz, Shawnee Mission South High School
Leila Henderson, Shawnee Mission South High School
Molly McCracken, Shawnee Mission South High School
Theme MVP
Rocky Westbrook, Weatherford High School
Diya Roy, Marcus High School
Gloria Shields NSPA Media Workshop
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