Awards
The Prospector’s print publication has won numerous local, state and national awards over its 60 years of existence. In addition to many Golden Eagles — the top award given by the Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association — the Prospector has received the Gold Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York and was three times honored with the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism, the Pacemaker, given by the National Scholastic Press Association.
2018-19
IHSA Journalism State
Senior Danny Ryerson won the state championship in Review Writing.
Sophomore Mara Nicolaie won the state championship in Advertising.
Senior Ayse Eldes took third place in Copy Editing and Feature Writing.
Seniors Kristina Hammerstrom and Madeline McTauge took sixth place in Yearbook Theme Development.
The Prospector tied for second place overall.
IHSA Journalism Sectionals
Team finish: 1st place
Winning individual sectional titles and advancing to state were
Senior Ayse Eldes in Features Writing
Senior Danny Ryerson in Review Writing.
Senior Wyatt Dojutrek in Sports Writing
Also qualifying for state were:
Senior Connor Graver who took second in Broadcast News.
Senior Ayse Eldes, who took second in Copy Editing.
Sophomore Grace Baldino who took second in Infographics
Sophomore Mara Nicolaie, who took third place in Advertising
Contributing valuable team points that made the sectional championship possible were:
Junior Ryan Kupperman, who took fourth place in Headline Writing
Sophomore Mara Nicolaie, who took fifth place in Editorial Cartooning.
NSPA (Los Angeles convention)
ProspectorNow is one of 25 schools to receive the 2015 Online Pacemaker, considered the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism. This is the first time ProspectorNow has won the award and the first time the Prospector has won in eight years.
NSPA (Orlando convention)
The National Scholastic Press Association hosts the Fall National High School Journalism Convention each year to together high school newspaper staffs from around the country. The Prospector was awarded sixth place for the Best of Show competition for an individual issue. Of the 2003 participants, 712 students were recognized for individual competitions. There were 145 Superior, 204 Excellent and 363 Honorable Mentions awards. The Prospector was represented in these awards by five staff members.
Congratulations to:
Junior Mike Stanford, excellent in newswriting
Senior Isabelle Rogers, honorable mention in review writing
Junior Diana Leane, honorable mention in news editing/headline writing
Junior Riley Langefeld, honorable mention in Press Law & Ethics
Senior Jack Gabriel, honorable mention in Broadcast Newswriting
CSPA Critiques
The Prospector and Prospectnow.com recently received the honor of being named Gold Medalist publications by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York City.
CSPA Gold Circle Awards
The Prospector and prospectornow.com recently received more great recognition from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York. Four members of the staff were recognized by CSPA in their annual Gold Crown Awards for excellence in journalism, both print and online.
Congratulations to:
Seniors Caroline Binley, Molly Mueller and Lauren Miller won first place in news online design website
2015 graduate Beth Clifford won first place in video PSA
Senior Lauren Miller took third place in Photo and Audio Slideshow for her boys’ volleyball story.
Senior Shreya Thakkar received a certificate of merit for her news feature “Faking the Grade.
2015 graduate Kelly Schoessling took third place in interactive graphics.
2015 graduate Beth Clifford took second place in video commercial.
2014-15
CSPA Gold Circle Awards
Junior Caroline Binley earned honorable mention for her column “Why I’m not proud to be an American”
2014 graduate Erin McGovern earned honorable mention for her sports story: “Dynasty: Girls’ golf wins second state title in three years.”
NSPA Story of the Year
2014 graduate Erin McGovern received honorable mention for Feature Story of the Year for her story “How Soon is Too Soon?”
JEA National Write-Offs
Prospect had an incredible seven students receive individual recognition.
Senior Mary Kate Moloney received an honorable mention rating in Review Writing, placing her in the top 50 in the nation in her category.
Senior Kelly Schoessling received an honorable mention rating in Editorial Writing, placing her in the top 50 in the nation.
Junior Devin Prasad received an excellent rating in Sports Writing, placing him in the top 25 in the nation in his category.
Senior Beth Clifford received an excellent rating in Broadcast Commercial/PSA, placing her in the top four in the nation in her category.
Junior Krzys Chwala received an excellent rating in Graphic Design: Advertising, placing him in the top four in the nation in his category.
Senior Ellen Siefke brought home the week’s biggest prize, a prestigious Superior rating in News Editing/Headline Writing. Ellen was the only student to receive this rating in her category, making her the top copy editor in the nation this year.
NSPA Critiques
The Prospector recently received the honor of being named an All-American publication by the National Scholastic Association. The Prospector received that title by earning “Marks of Distinction” in four of the five categories being judged: Coverage, Writing/Editing, Photos/Graphics, and Leadership. Additionally, ProspectorNow.com also earned a mark of distinction for Coverage, marking the first time our school newspaper’s website has received such an honor.
CSPA Crown Awards
Silver Crown in Hybrid Category
CSPA Critiques
The Prospector and prospectornow.com recently received the honor of being named Gold Medalist publications by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in New York City. To earn this honor, we were rated as “All-Columbian” in all three areas of judging: Essentials, Verbal, and Visual.
CSPA Gold Circle Awards
Junior Lauren Miller received a third place award for best “photo and audio slideshow for digital media”
Senior Kelly Schoessling received third place in the “interactive graphic for digital media” category.
Senior Beth Clifford took second place in the nation for best “video commercial for digital media.”
IHSA Journalism Section
Team finish: 2nd place
Winning individual sectional titles were:
Junior Lauren Miller in Feature Photography
Junior Devin Prasad in Yearbook Caption Writing
Sophomore Diana Leane in Yearbook Double Page Spread
Junior Molly Mueller in Sports Writing, her second-straight sectional title in this category.
Bringing home second-place finishes and also advancing to state were:
Senior Beth Clifford in Broadcast News
Senior Mary Kate Moloney in Yearbook Copy Writing
Junior Shreya Thakkar in Copy Editing
Also collecting points valuable team points for Prospect were
Junior Marci Kiszkiel and senior Amanda Eczuk, who took fourth place in Yearbook Theme Development
Junior Krzys Chwala, who took fourth place in Advertising
Junior Marci Kiszkiel, who fifth place in Editorial Cartooning
Junior Garrett Strother, who took sixth place in Review Writing
Junior Shannon Smith, who took sixth place in Info Graphics
Northern Illinois Scholastic Press Association
For the eighth time in the past nine years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence and ProspectorNow.com won a silver certificate in the web contest.
Even more impressively, Prospect brought home 13 Blue Ribbons — the highest individual honor from NISPA — which shatters the old record of 8, set in 2007.
Winning blue ribbons were:
Senior Kelly Schoessling in News Writing and in Online Interactive Graphics
Junior Shreya Thakkar in Feature Writing
Junior Lauren Miller, senior Beth Clifford, and junior Shreya Thakkar in Online Breaking News
Junior Marci Kiszkiel in Column Writing
Junior Caroline Binley in Online Blogs
Senior Beth Clifford in Video Story
Sophomore Diana Leane in Individual In-Depth
Senior Peter Fusilero and junior Ryan Molini in Multimedia Package
Senior Peter Fusilero in Sports Writing
Junior Cassidy Selep in Newspaper Photography
Junior Garrett Strother in Graphics
Earning Honorable Mention Certificates were
Junior Caroline Binley in Editorial Writing
Senior Mary Kate Moloney in Review Writing
Junior Cassidy Selep in Online Photo
Junior Krzys Chwala in Ad Design
Northern Illinois Newspaper Association
Senior Aungelina Dahm won NINA Journalist of the Year
IHSA State Journalism Meet
Junior Lauren Miller led the way by taking second place in the state in Feature Photography.
Junior Molly Mueller also impressed by finishing fourth in the state in Sports Writing, the second straight year she took fourth in that category.
Also earning medals for Prospect were:
Junior Devin Prasad took fifth in Yearbook Capiton Writing
Senior Mary Kate Moloney took fifth in Yearbook Copy Writing
Senior Beth Clifford took sixth in Broadcast News
As a team, Prospect finished with 13 points, just one point out of a top-10 finish.
IJEA
ProspectorNow.com was selected as the best website in its class, marking the first time it has received a state-wide award. Additionally the Prospector finished third place for best overall newspaper, and took third place for Best Overall Design.
Individually, the following students earned recognition from IJEA:
Senior Ellen Siefke was one of 10 students named to the IJEA All-State Journalism Team.
Taking first place honors were:
Junior Cassidy Selep in Photography
Junior Elai Kobayashi-Solomon in Blogging
Taking second place were:
Junior Katy Ryan in Info Graphics
Senior Aungelina Dahm in Advertising
Finishing third were:
Junior Caroline Binley in Editorial Writing
Senior Ellen Siefke in Headline Writing
And receiving an honorable mention were:
Sophomore Mike Stanford in News Writing
Senior Peter Fusilero in Sports Writing
Junior Shannon Smith, sophomore Diana Leane, and junior Katy Ryan in Center Spread
2013-14
JEA/NSPA National Convention
Prospect had an incredible eight students receive individual recognition.
Receiving honorable mention ratings in their categories were senior Andi Hayes in Review
Writing and junior Kelly Schoessling in Editorial Writing
Receiving the second highest rating of “excellent” and placing them among the elite in the nation in their categories were junior Spencer Ball in News Writing, junior Ellen Siefke in Copy Editing, junior Peter Fusilero in Sports Writing, and senior Meghan Doyle and junior Jack McDermott in Broadcast Package.
And senior Erin McGovern brought home the biggest prize for Prospect, earning a prestigious Superior rating in Feature Writing, one of only eight students in the nation to do so in her category. This is the fourth straight year that a Prospect student has received this honor.
NISPA Conference
For the seventh time in the past eight years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence.
Individually, numerous staff members were recognized for their outstanding work with Blue Ribbons, the top prize in individual categories:
Senior Andi Hayes in Editorial
Senior Rich Futo in Photography
Senior Erin McGovern in Feature Writing and Sports
Junior Kelly Schoessling in Advertising
Senior Erin McGovern, senior Nabi Dressler, senior Khrystyna Halatyma, senior Kiley Walsh, junior Peter Fusilero, junior Ellen Siefke, sophomore Molly Mueller and sophomore Devin Prasad in Team In-Depth
Also receiving honorable mention recognition were
Senior Andi Hayes in Review Writing
Senior Nabi Dressler in Graphics
Senior Kiley Walsh in Column Writing
IHSA Sectional Journalism
Prospect finished second out of 12 teams, thanks in large part to having a school-record FIVE individual sectional champions:
Junior Spencer Ball in Headline Writing
Sophomore Molly Mueller in Sports Writing
Senior Nabi Dressler in Newspaper Design
Senior Meghan Doyle in Yearbook Copy Writing
Junior Ellen Siefke in Copy Editing
Also qualifying for state were
Sophomore Krzys Chwala, who took third place in Advertising
Junior Jack McDermott, who took second place in Broadcast News
Also earning valuable team points for Prospect were
Sophomore Caroline Binley, sixth place in Info Graphics
Junior Kelly Schoessling, fifth place in News Writing
Senior Andi Hayes, fourth place in Review Writing
Junior Aungelina Dahm, fifth place in Yearbook Double-Page Design
Sophomore Veronica Holloway, fifth place in Editorial Cartooning
Junior Chris Kivlahan, sixth place in Editorial Writing
Senior Rich Futo, fourth place in Photography
IWPA
For the second year in a row, and only the fourth time ever, the Prospect won the Silver Pen Award from the Illinois Women’s Press Association, the highest award the IWPA gives.
Additionally, Prospect set a new standard by earning first-place in five individual categories, topping last year’s record-setting total by one, as well as earning recognition in 15 of the 17 categories overall.
Our first-place winners were
Senior Nabi Dressler in Feature Writing
Senior Rich Futo in Sports Photography and Graphics/Photo Illustration
Senior Khrystyna Halatyma and sophomore Shannon Smith in Single Page
Also earning recognition in the contest were
Junior Chris Kivlahan, second place in editorial writing and third place in column
Junior Aungelina Dahm and senior Khrystyna Halatyma, second place in double-truck layout
Senior Meghan Doyle, second place in Video Web News
Sophomore Lauren Miller, third place in Video Feature Story
Sophomore Lauren Miller and sophomore Devin Prasad, second place in Video Sports
Senior Erin McGovern, honorable mention in Sports Writing
Senior Andi Hayes, honorable mention in Review Writing
National Federation Of Press Women
Senior Khrystyna Halatyma and sophomore Shannon Smith took first place in the nation in Single Page Layout
Senior Rich Futo took second in the nation in Sports
Senior Rich Futo took third place in the nation in Graphic/Photo Illustration
American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA)
The Prospector was recently recognized with a first-place rating from the American Scholastic Press Association in New York, as well as getting first place in photography.
IHSA State Journalism Meet
Prospect finished with 13 team points, good for eighth place overall, and had four individuals bring home state medals.
Leading the way for Prospect was junior Ellen Siefke, who took second place in copy editing.
Senior Meghan Doyle took third place in the state in yearbook copy writing
Sophomore Molly Mueller finished fourth in sportswriting
Junior Spencer Ball took sixth place in headline writing.
IJEA Contest
The Prospector took third place overall in the annual Illinois Journalism Education Association contest, with our website, prospectornow.com, taking second place honors. The Prospector also was awarded top honors for best overall design.
Individuals who earned recognition were
Sophomore Caroline Binley, who was rated tops in the state in column writing, and also took second place in headline writing
Senior Meghan Doyle, who finished second in the state in multimedia feature
Junior Kelly Schoessling, third place in headline writing, and took both second and third place in advertising
Senior Erin McGovern, honorable mention in Sports Writing
Senior Andi Hayes, honorable mention in Editorial Writing
Senior Nabi Dressler, honorable mention in Review
Senior Rich Futo, honorable mention in
Junior Mary Kate Moloney, honorable mention in Info Graphics
Seniors Nabi Dressler and Khrystyna Halatyma, and junior Peter Fusilero, honorable mention in center-spread layout
2012-2013
JEA/NSPA National Convention
For the third year in a row, the Prospector placed in the Best of Show contest, taking 6th place in the nation for the overall quality of the most recent issue of the newspaper. This is the highest finish in Prospect history in this contest.
Prospect had an incredible five students receive individual recognition.
Receiving the second highest rating of “excellent” and placing among the top 20 in the nation in their categories were sophomore Aungelina Dahm in Yearbook Sports Writing and senior Miranda Holloway in News Writing.
And this was a historic performance for Prospect, as three Knights received the highest rating possible of Superior, placing them among the elite journalists in the nation.
Sophomore Peter Fusilero was one of eight students in the nation to earn a “superior” rating in sports writing, senior Kyle Brown was one of five in the nation to be named “superior” in Copy Editing/Headline Writing and senior Katie Best in Yearbook Student Life, placing her among the top eight in the nation. Incredibly, Katie also earned a superior at last year’s convention, making her the first Prospect student to be a repeat superior winner since 2007-08.
NISPA Conference
For the sixth time in the past seven years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence. Individually, numerous staff members were recognized for their outstanding work with Blue Ribbons, the top prize in individual categories:
Senior Maddy Moloney for Feature Writing
Senior Ian Magnuson for Photography
Sophomore Brian Park and junior Khrystyna Halatyma for Team In-Depth
Also receiving an honorable mention award was
Senior Maggie Devereux in News Writing
IHSA Sectional Journalism Meet
At one of the most competitive sectionals in the state, Prospect finished third out of 13 teams, qualifying six individuals for state in the process.
Advancing to state are
Junior Nabi Dressler, who took second place in Newspaper Design
Sophomore Brian Park, who took third place in Broadcast News Writing
Freshman Veronica Holloway, who won the sectional title in Editorial Cartooning
Sophomore Chris Kivlahan, who won the sectional title in Editorial Writing
Senior Ian Magnuson, who won the sectional title in Photography
Senior Maddy Moloney, who took third place in Feature Writing
Also earning valuable team points for Prospect were
Senior Danielle Church took fifth place in Advertising
Sophomore Ellen Siefke took sixth place in Copy Editing
Junior Andi Hayes took sixth place in Info Graphics
Senior Miranda Holloway took sixth place in News Writing
Sophomore Peter Fusilero took fourth place in Sports Writing
Sophomore Aungelina Dahm took fourth place in Headline Writing
Junior Khrystyna Halatyma took fourth place in Yearbook Center Spread
Senior Katie Best took fifth place in Yearbook Copy Writing
IWPA
For the first time since 2010 and only the third time ever, the Prospector won the Silver Pen Award from the Illinois Women’s Press Association, the highest award the IWPA gives. Additionally, Prospect set a new standard by having four individuals recognized as having the best entry in their category. We have never had more than two in any given year. Our first-place winners were
Senior Ian Magnuson in Feature Photography
Sophomore Aungelina Dahm in Video Sports Story
Seniors Katie Best, Maggie Devereux and Kyle Brown in Single Page Layout
Junior Khrystyna Halatyma and sophomore Brian Park in Double Truck Layout
Also earning recognition in the contest were
Sophomore Brian Park — 2nd in Video Feature
Sophomore Peter Fusilero — 2nd in Video Sports Story, and honorable mention in columns
Senior Kyle Brown — 3rd in Editorial Writing
Sophomore Chris Kivlahan — 3rd in Opinion
Senior Ian Magnuson — 3rd in Graphics. Ian also took honorable mention in Sports Photo
IHSA State Journalism Meet
Junior Nabi Dressler took third place in the state in Newspaper Design
IJEA
Senior Kyle Brown, who had the best news story in the state this year
Sophomore Aungelina Dahm, who took third place for best sports story
Sophomore Chris Kivlahan, who received an honorable mention for column writing
Sophomore Ellen Siefke, who received an honorable mention for headline writing
Staff, who received second place for best front page design
Senior Maddy Moloney, junior Khrystyna Halatyma and sophomore Jack McDermott, who received honorable mention in center-spread.
2011-2012
National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA)
Earned rating of All-American with Five Marks of Distinction
JEA/NSPA National Convention
Most notably 2011 graduates Gina O’Neill and Megan Maughan won third place in the nation for News Story of the Year for their story “Suicide too serious for silence.”
Also, for the second year in a row, and the second time in its history, the Prospector placed in the Best of Show contest, taking 9th place in the nation for the overall quality of the most recent issue of the newspaper.
Prospect had an incredible 10 students receive individual recognition, the most in school history.
Receiving honorable mentions were seniors Heather Dove in Photoshop Art, Zak Buczinsky in Commentary Writing, Jack Mathews in Sportswriting, Jane Berry in Feature Writing, and Andrew Revord in Editorial Writing.
Amazingly, senior Maddie Conway earned an excellent rating in News Writing for the second consecutive year, placing her in the top 20 in the nation in her category. Also receiving an excellent rating were senior Alyssa Zediker in Yearbook Copy/Caption Sports Writing, placing her in the top 15 in the nation, junior Maggie Devereux in news magazine layout, placing her in the top 10 in the nation, and sophomore Meghan Doyle in Yearbook Copy/Caption Student Life, placing her in the top five in the nation.
Finally, receiving the highest rating given in write-offs — Superior — was junior Katie Best, who was one of seven people in the nation to receive that honor in Yearbook Copy/Caption Student Life. This marks the second year in a row a Prospect student has received a Superior rating and just the third time since 2008.
IJEA
Senior Maddie Conway received honorable mention in the IJEA Illinois Journalist of the Year competition.
Senior Carly Evans was named to the IJEA All-State Journalism Team.
For the first time ever, the Prospector took first place in the Illinois Journalism Education Association’s annual newspaper competition.
Earning individual recognition from IJEA were
Junior Miranda Holloway, who had the best news story in the state this year
Junior Ian Magnuson, who finished first in photography
Senior Heather Dove, who took first in graphics
Sophomore Meghan Doyle, who finished second in front-page design
Senior Carly Evans, who took third in feature
Junior Kyle Brown, who took third in review writing
NISPA
For the fifth time in the past six years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence.
Individually, numerous staff members were recognized for their outstanding work with Blue Ribbons, the top prize in individual categories:
Senior Emmy Lindfors in Feature Writing and in Ad Design
Senior Jack Mathews in Column Writing
Seniors Carly Evans and Zak Buczinsky and juniors Katie Best and Maddy Maloney in Team In-Depth
Junior Ian Magnuson in Photography
Senior Heather Dove in Graphics
Also receiving honorable mention awards were
Senior Maddie Conway in Sports Writing
IWPA
Third place overall
Senior Emmy Lindfors first place for single page layout (Electric Man)
Seniors Carly Evans and Zak Buczinsky and juniors Katie Best and Maddy Moloney for Double-Truck Layout (Beyond the Diagnosis)
Also receiving recognition in this contest were
Senior Jack Mathews, second place for column writing
Senior Maddie Conway, second place for sports writing
Junior Maggie Devereux, third place for editorial writing
Junior Miranda Holloway, honorable mention for news story
American Scholastic Press Association
First Place with Special Merit
IHSA Sectional Journalism Meet
At one of the most competitive sectionals in the state, Prospect finished fifth out of 13 teams, qualifying three individuals for state in the process.
Advancing to state are
Junior Kyle Brown, who finished second in headline writing
Senior Emmy Lindfors, who finished second in Yearbook Layout
Junior Katie Best, who finished second in Yearbook Copy Writing
Amazingly, Prospect finished top six in 11 of the 16 events on the day. Earning valuable team points were
Junior Miranda Holloway, who finished fourth in Advertising
Senior Zak Buczinsky, fourth in Broadcast Newswriting
Junior Ian Magnuson, fourth in Feature Photography
Sophomore Meghan Doyle, fourth in Newspaper Design
Senior Katie Reiser, fifth in Editorial Cartooning
Senior Heather Dove, sixth in Info Graphics
Senior Tallyn Owens, sixth in Review Writing
Senior Cristina Spagnola and junior Maddy Moloney, sixth place for Yearbook Theme Development
IHSA State Meet
Junior Kyle Brown finished second in headline writing
2010-2011
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards
For the first time, the Prospector won three Gold Circle Awards:
Junior Maddie Conway and senior Kate Schroeder won first place in the nation for news writing for their story “Because we beLeeved”.
Senior Riley Simpson also was tops in the nation, winning a first place award for sports cartooning for his steroids drawing, and Riley also took second in the nation for his review of the classic movie “Airplane.”
JEA/NSPA National Convention
For the first time in its history, the Prospector placed in the Best of Show contest, taking 10th place in the nation for the overall quality of the most recent issue of the newspaper.
Junior Maddie Conway earned an excellent rating in News Writing, placing her in the top 40 in the nation in her category, while junior Whitney Kiepura was honored with an excellent rating in Commentary Writing, putting her in the top 20 in the nation. And senior Gina O’Neill brought home the biggest prize for Prospect, earning a prestigious Superior rating in Copy Editing, one of only six students in the nation to do so in her category.
CSPA Crown Awards
Silver Crown Winner
NSPA Journalism Honor Roll
Senior Deanna Shilkus
IWPA
Sophomore Ian Magnuson — first place for feature photography
Senior Riley Simpson — third place for cartooning
Senior Megan Maughan — second place for single-page layout
Senior Nick Stanojevic — honorable mention for sports story
NISPA
For the fourth time in the past five years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence.
Individually, numerous staff members were recognized for their outstanding work with Blue Ribbons, the top prize in individual categories:
Senior Sharon Lee in News Writing
Senior Megan Maughan in Feature Writing
Senior Riley Simpson in Column Writing, Review Writing
Senior Sharon Lee, senior Kate Schroeder, junior Emmy Lindfors and sophomore Jenny Johnson in Team In-Depth
Senior Neel Thakkar in Sports Writing
Senior Deanna Shilkus in Advertising
Also receiving honorable mention recognition were
Senior Gina O’Neill in Editorial Writing
Senior Riley Simpson in Editorial Cartooning
Sophomore Ian Magnuson in Photography
IHSA Journalism Sectional
At one of the most competitive sectionals in the state, Prospect finished second as a team,
qualifying 11 individuals for state in the process, the most state qualifiers in school history.
Prospect also tied a school record by having three individual sectional champions:
Senior Megan Maughan in Feature
Junior Andrew Revord in Editorial Writing
Senior Hannah Powers and junior Carly Evans in Yearbook Theme Development
Also qualifying for state were
Junior Jane Berry, who finished second in News Broadcasting
Junior Maddie Conway, who finished second in News Writing
Junior Emmy Lindfors, who finished third in Yearbook Double-page Spread
Senior Nikki Gallup, who finished third in Editorial Cartooning
Senior Neel Thakkar, who finished third in Sports Writing
Senior Kate Schroeder, who finished third in Newspaper
Sophomore Katie Best, who finished third in Headline Writing
Also contributing valuable team points were
Senior Sharon Lee, who took fourth place in Yearbook Copy Writing
Senior Deanna Shilkus, who took fifth place in
Sophomore Ian Magnuson, who took fifth in Photography
IHSA State Journalism Meet
For an incredible third straight year, the Knights finished in the top six in the state. Prospect finished with 15 team points, good for sixth place overall.
Leading the way for Prospect was junior Maddie Conway, who won the state championship for news writing, the third year in a row PHS has had an individual state champion.
Senior Neel Thakkar was the state runner-up in sportswriting, and senior Megan Maughan finished third in the state in feature writing.
IJEA Awards
Second place in Best Overall Newspaper
Third place for best front page design
Second place for best Overall Design
Seniors Gina O’Neill and Megan Maughan — first place for best news story
Senior Megan Maughan — third place for Best Feature
Senior Neel Thakkar — third place for Best Sports Story
Senior Gina O’Neill — second place for Best Column
Senior Riley Simpson — first place for Best Cartoon
Senior Deanna Shilkus — first place for Best Advertisement
Senior Kate Schroeder named to All-State Team
Northern Illinois Newspaper Association (NINA)
Senior Gina O’Neill — named NINA Journalist of the Year
2009-2010
Columbia Scholastic Press Association
Gold Medalist
JEA/NSPA National Convention
Four Prospect students received the second highest rating of “excellent” in their respective categories:
Senior Mike Hammersley in copy editing, placing him in the top 10 in the nation
Junior Neel Thakkar in sports writing, putting him among the top 15 in the nation.
Senior Beth Rowe in commentary writing, placing her in the top 20 in the nation
Senior Katie Ritchie in feature writing, placing her in the top 25 in the nation.
Three other Prospector staff members received honorable mention recognition:
Junior Kate Schroeder in newspaper layout, placing her in the top 15 in the nation
Senior Karolina Chwala in advertising, placing her in the top 20 in the nation
Senior Keelan Murphy in Yearbook Copywriting: Student Life, placing her in the top 40 in the nation.
IWPA
For the first time in school history, the Prospector took first place in the Illinois Women’s Press Association annual communications contest. PHS tallied 22 points, edging second-place Lyons Township by a single point. Contributing to this honor were:
Junior Kate Schroeder, who took first place in both graphics and single page layout
Junior Neel Thakkar, who took first place in column writing and second place in sports writing
Junior Riley Simpson, who took second place in review writing
Senior Amanda Mlikan, who took third place in sports photography
Senior Beth Rowe, who took third place in feature writing
NISPA
For the third time in the past four years, the Prospector won the Golden Eagle for overall excellence.
Individually, numerous staff members were recognized for their outstanding work with Blue Ribbons, the top prize in individual categories:
Senior Katie Ritchie for both news writing and column writing
Senior Keelan Murphy for individual in-depth
Junior Neel Thakkar for sports writing
Senior Amanda Mlikan for photography
Junior Kate Schroeder for graphics
Senior Karolina Chwala for advertising
Also, receiving Honorable Mention awards were:
Senior Beth Rowe for feature writing
Senior Kelly Rose McAleer for editorial writing
Senior Keelan Murphy and juniors Mika Evans and Deanna Shilkus for team-in-depth
Junior Riley Simpson for both review writing and editorial cartooning
IHSA Journalism Sectional
Prospect finished fifth as a team, qualifying five individuals for state in the process.
Senior Karolina Chwala won her second consecutive sectional title in advertising.
Senior Keelan Murphy also won a sectional title in yearbook copy writing.
Joining them in Charleston this Friday will be senior Katie Ritchie, who finished third in feature writing, senior Mike Hammersley, who took third place in copy editing, and junior Riley Simpson, who finished third in headline writing.
Also contributing points to the sectional score were:
Senior Kelly Rose McAleer, who took fifth place in review writing
Junior Gina O’Neill, who finished fifth in editorial writing
Freshman Ian Magnuson, who took fifth place in feature photography
Senior Amanda Mlikan and junior Megan Maughan, who teamed up to take sixth place in yearbook theme development
IHSA State Journalism Meet
For the second-straight year, the Knights finished in the top 10 in the state. Prospect finished with 15 team points, good for sixth place overall.
Incredibly, four of Prospect’s five state qualifiers came home with medals, led by senior Keelan Murphy, who won the state title in yearbook copy writing. This is the second year in a row we have had an individual state champion.
Also leading the way for Prospect were seniors Karolina Chwala and Katie Ritchie, who both medaled at state for the second straight year. Karolina took third place in Advertising and Katie finished fourth in feature writing.
Also, senior Mike Hammersley finished fifth in Copy Editing to earn a state medal
