On November 21, students enrolled in print class as well as some students enrolled in broadcast class were welcomed to attend a PSPA competition at Slippery Rock University. After the initial PSPA competition, several students qualified and proceeded on to the finals. Those students included Nick Fessler (10), Lillian Stragand (10), Morgan Blank (10),Wyatt Miller (10), Anna Majors (11), Troy Reynolds (11), Elizabeth Mooney(11), Nick Metzger (11), Calla Reynolds (12), Addison Freeman (12), Helena Buli (12), Alexander Micon (12), Colton Blank (12), Caden Beringer (12), Bryson Deal (12) and Seanna Conklin (12).
“I was so excited to hear I had qualified because it was just such a cool opportunity,” Stragand said.
For many of the journalism students these competitions were their first. They found qualifying very exciting and looked forward to the opportunity to compete at finals for the first time. Without knowing what to expect, first time qualifiers were eager to experience tougher competition firsthand. Some students have qualified for several years in a row and were excited to continue their winning streak while others missed the cutoff in years prior and hoped to make a comeback.
“Qualifying for PSPA my senior year was really nice. I qualified the last two years so I’m really looking to not only qualify but hopefully try to take home a win this year. On top of that it is just a nice way to end off my senior year.” Colton Blank said.
The students were eager to compete and optimistically hoped to continue advancing to take home a win.
The Finals competition was scheduled for Monday March 16th. The competing students departed from the school on March 15 at 12:00 p.m. where they took a bus to Penn State College under the guidance of Mr. Aaron Fitzpatrick (print and broadcast teacher) and Mrs. Sara Miller (Bulldog Barker advisor). Upon their arrival, the students ate dinner, settled into their assigned hotel rooms for the night and prepared for competitions the following day.
On March 16th, competitions took place. Before the competitions began, the students had breakfast and gathered in the Penn State Auditorium where they were given an outline for the events of the day and the chance to listen to a few selected guest speakers. Following that, those competing in timed competitions were divided by category and used their allotted amount of time to finish their given task before submitting their finished work. Other students that competed in less time restrictive categories, such as photography, article writing, podcasting and broadcast videography gathered photos, videos, interviews and other material throughout the day to submit within their due dates. After all final submissions were made, students departed Penn State.
“I really hope I win because I’ve never done a journalism competition so it would be so cool to win my first. However, with that being said, I’m not sure about my chances because it was my first time and I wasn’t completely confident in all of my work. I am still very hopeful for a good outcome.” Morgan Blank said.
Many competing students eagerly await the announcement of selected winners for this year’s competition, hoping to win for their category and grateful for the opportunity to compete.