Illinois student communicators again proved they are among the best in the country by taking top honors at this year’s National Federation of Press Women’s High School Communications Contest. 

First-place winning entries in the IWPA High School Communications Contest were eligible to compete at the national level where, this year, nearly 2,000 students participated. Students first competed in a state-wide communications contest and first-place winners were selected to advance to the national round of competition. 

IWPA contest participants scoring national first-place honors are: 

  • Editorial: Bayarmaa Bat-erdene, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois.
  • News Story: Victoria Feng, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois and 
  • Radio / Television Interview or Talk Show: Brandon Eddy, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois

The first-place winners in each category received a $100 cash prize. In total, 12 IWPA High School Contest participants received awards at the national level. 

The national winners were announced in a virtual ceremony. Click here to see a video of the event.

Below is a list of all the national award-winning IWPA contestants:

Editorial

First place — Bayarmaa Baterdene, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois, Posts and Picket Signs.

News Story 

 First place — Victoria Feng, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois, Colleges Are Hiring Influencers to Make Mask-Wearing a Trend.

Feature Story 

Honorable Mention — Humza Qazi and Vaasu Kakuturu, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois, Same Room Different Zoom.

Graphics/Photo Illustration

Third place — Sara Gebka, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois, Healthy or Perfect Graphic.

Single Page Layout

Honorable Mention — Anna Olp, Kaneland High School, Maple Park, Illinois, Manifestation and its Many Meanings.

Double Truck Layout

Honorable Mention — Serena Mehta and Lily Jiang, Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, Illinois, Diversity.

Environment

Third place — Holly Urbanczyk, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Radio / Television Interview or Talk Show

First place — Brandon Eddy, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois, COVID-19.

Video News Story

Third place — Olivia Sowacke, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois, Train Station.

Video Feature Story

Second place — Tori Wright, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, Illinois, Black in America.

Yearbook Layout

Honorable Mention — Nicholas Pratt, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois, Quaran-teens. 

Yearbook Copywriting

Third place — Katie Anthony, Huntley High School, Huntley, Illinois, Quaran-teens.

Congratulations to all the students and their advisors!