Yearbook and newspaper staff members flew to Nashville for the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention at the Gaylord Convention Center from Nov. 13-16.
“The highlight of it is when they come back and bring something they found from another program that they can add into ours or some find new career paths and things they want to do,” journalism adviser Megan Ortiz said.
The students walked away from the convention with 16 honors and made school history with the yearbook getting a program-high fourth place in the Best of Show (225-276 pages) contest.
“We also won some writing awards, photography awards and design awards, so it just kind of shows the diversity of things kids are learning in the program,” Megan Ortiz said.
Junior Sydney Ortiz won the title of National High School Writer of the Year for her portfolio of writing pieces from the 2024-25 school year.
“To be able to have our name be at the top of writer of the year from our publication and stuff just goes to show what other kids can do if they want it and put the time and effort in,” Megan Ortiz said. “I think it put Kingwood Park on the map and showed kids what’s possible if they join the program and work hard. [Sydney] set the bar higher for kids to know that even in this journalism program, you can [strive] for one of the top writing awards.”
Sydney Ortiz has been dedicated to winning the Writer of the Year award ever since seeing her older sister, Maya Ortiz, earned the Photojournalist of the Year award in 2021 and 2022. In order to reach her goal, Sydney had all the story topics that she wanted to write about already planned out on a list by around October, and went from topic to topic as she finished them.
Her portfolio ranged from pieces about the devastation of Hurricane Beryl to the unbreakable bond formed between two sisters after one survived a near-fatal car crash. Sydney Ortiz is the first high school journalist from the Greater Houston area to win national Writer of the Year since the award’s inception.
“She puts a lot of pressure on herself and has really high standards, and so to see her win the award she most wanted and worked for was exciting,” Megan Ortiz said. “It’s just nice when a kid’s hard work is validated outside of our school and on such a large stage.”
On top of winning Writer of the Year, Sydney Ortiz was the only student at the convention awarded a full scholarship to The School of the New York Times for two weeks over the summer (worth more than $7,700) in New York City. At this academy, she plans to study Political Reporting.
“I made a goal to win Writer of the Year when I was in seventh grade because I saw my sister win Photojournalist of the Year,” she said of her sister Maya, who was named NSPA Photojournalist of the Year in 2021 and 2022. “I saw that and made it my goal for five years to get that, so I was really excited.”
Junior Ella Hickman is on the yearbook staff and works hard to make sure the yearbook looks great at the end of the year. She looked forward to going on the Nashville trip and bonding with her fellow yearbook and newspaper staff members while out of state.
“[I wanted to go because] I have a lot of friends in journalism, so I guess going with my friends and hanging out with them, but then also exploring new parts of the country, like going to Nashville, the weather was amazing, and everything was great there,” Hickman said. “I think of the trip as getting closer with my other editors, and it was just really fun in general.”
This one was special, however, after she heard the 2025 yearbook she helped plan from start to finish earned such a high honor.
“I was honestly really surprised because I didn’t think the book would’ve placed as high as it did,” Hickman said. “Honestly, I didn’t even think we would rank because of how rushed last year’s yearbook was and how much we had to work on it from home.”
Megan Ortiz said the convention and the trip are important aspects of her journalism class. It allows her students to learn from other great minds, strengthen bonds among their classmates and serve as motivation for them to work even harder in the future.
“I can tell kids they do a really good job, but when they actually get it on a plaque or they get it on paper from somebody else, it just kind of boosts their confidence even more,” Megan Ortiz said. “It gives them a little extra motivation and encouragement that all the hard work pays off.”
