By DYLAN LATORE– The Indiana Gazette Newspaper in Education Contest is returning once again for its annual showcase of student work.
The contest is held “to encourage students to use creativity to showcase their town through different media.” It involves many sections of the contest that focus on different newspaper-specific media. Such as a Writing contest, a ‘Design an Ad’ contest, an Opinion/feature Column contest, a Photography contest, and a Cover Design contest.
The ones open to grades 9-12 are the Design an Ad, Opinion/Feature Column (7-12), and Cover Design contest. Entries are due February 28, and Judging will occur March 1-9.
A winner’s reception will be held March 21. Winner’s are also rewarded with a cash prize in the form of a check. First place winners will receive $50, second will receive $25, and third will get $15. There is no entry fee to enter the contest, and all students are welcome to enter.
Amanda Elias, a Senior, said that “winning was nice because I have that in my accomplishments to show to colleges. Also, the prize money was really nice as well.” Elias placed 2nd on last years contest under the Sports category for Photojournalism.
Speak from my own personal experience, it is a great way to add an accomplishment under your belt, with recognition for local public figures as well. I personally received a letter and a copy of my picture from Senator Don White, which was unexpected but greatly appreciated.
Even if you are not a professional photographer or writer, you probably have better chances of winning than you think. Not too many students enter this contest each year as not too many students know about it. The reception is nice and does not take very long, refreshments and snacks are provided. After winners are announced, I was taken in groups to get my photo taken for the newspaper. I walked out with a very welcome $50 check.
Leo Lezzer, a peer and other category winner said that he “thinks it’s great for beginner photography students in the Indiana area to be able to show off their skills. I would definitely recommend submitting photos to NIE because there is no risk and it certainly looks good on resumes”.
Mr. Puskar, the Digital Media teacher at IHS, shared his opinion stating that he “Thinks that it’s a great opportunity that the Indiana Gazette provides, especially with the recent newspaper financial struggle. It gets the word out and hopefully gets people reading as well. It’s great that they still value student work with a contest.
As far as my encouragement, I certainly think that students should try it if they are aware of the contest.” Information can be found online or in information packets held by several teachers in the school (Nath and Puskar, for example). Students of all levels of experience are encouraged to enter.
[Photo by Dylan Latore]
Photo caption: Amanda Elias, a winner from the previous year, holding up this year’s information packet.
